


I See My Future In Your Eyes

by lizardwriter



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: AvaLance, F/F, Highschool AU, cool kid nerd au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-06 07:09:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 99,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14051655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizardwriter/pseuds/lizardwriter
Summary: Sara's relatively new to school, but already she is THE cool kid that everyone wants to be with. Everyone except Ava, who is much more interested in making sure she secures the spot of Valedictorian in their graduating class and that she survives her physics group project with her GPA intact. So of course, Mr. Stein pairs her to work with Sara. Except, maybe Sara's not so bad.  And maybe, as her best friend, Amaya, has pointed out, making meaningful connections with people is actually an important part of life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First things first, a heads up: I do NOT have a lot of time to write. This story so far has been typed exclusively on my phone via chat to a friend. I have time to get on my computer maybe once every few weeks, so that's probably about as often as I'll update, but I'll do more if I can. I've got a 4 yr old and 1 yr old twins, so pestering me for updates wont work because I guarantee they're pestering me more effectively for more things. My writing is a bit rusty (because of the aforementioned kids), and my characterizations are at time a bit off, made somewhat worse by the fact that it's a high school AU, so I'm adjusting for their age and them not having been through certain things in their lives that they have on the show. 
> 
> That being said, there are about 50 pages of this already written (though not edited, and I don't have time to do a proper job on that either, sorry), so I'll hopefully be able to update fairly regularly, for a while at least. I have every intention of finishing this story someday, but history has shown me that the best intentions can still end in unfinished stories, so if that happens, I apologize in advance. This is mostly fluffy (so far, at least), but there is some drama and it's Sara Lance, so expect some action at some point. 
> 
> If all these notes haven't put you off trying this story: I hope you enjoy! xx

She was impossible to not notice. Not that Ava didn’t give it her best try. It’s just she was loud and she was sassy and she was flirty and she’d been at school all of like three months and already had a good two thirds of the student body, male and female fawning all over her.

Okay, she was kind of pretty in a drop dead gorgeous kind of way. If you could look past her tendency to do duck face in pictures, that was. Not that Ava had checked out her Instagram or anything.

Okay, once, but she was human and it was purely out of curiosity that she had now firmly squashed.

Ava had more important things to worry about like national honor society and debate club and AP Chem and her scholarship applications. She didn’t need to spend time thinking about someone who walked around acting like she was all badass just because she was openly bisexual and her cop dad let her carry a taser when she wasn’t at school, or so rumor had it. Word was that he’d let her learn to use it on his deputies or something.

Ava didn’t set much stock in rumors, though. She preferred truths and the truth was that Sara Lance was irritating and insufferable and she was the absolute last person that Ava wanted to do this stupid group assignment with.

Why were group assignments even a thing anymore? It was one thing when they were in elementary school. Then kids are still learning to interact properly and learning social rules, but by high school it was just a way to torture the good students, Ava was sure. It always went the same way: other people would say they’d do their part, they’d divide up tasks, and then they’d never be able to get together to actually work on the project because of movies and football games and shopping, and then their dogs would get sick or their sisters would break up with their boyfriends so they simply wouldn’t have any time to “finish” their part of the project, except all they would have is one bullet point of information. Inevitably Ava would end up doing the bulk of (or all of) the work. It sucked. Every time.

Although at least when Ava did all the work she knew it was up to her standards. Honestly, some of her fellow students could barely string a proper sentence together, let alone come up with a coherent thesis paragraph. They were all going to sink when it came time for college, Ava was sure.

Why couldn’t Mr. Stein have let them choose their own partners at least? Ava would have gone with Nate. He was a bit thick but he was sweet enough and he could do small things to contribute if she gave specific enough instructions.

But, no. She had to have been paired with Little Miss Too-Cool-For-School.

“Look, don’t worry. I’ll do the project and slap your name on it. It’s honestly easier that way,” Ava said, not looking up at Sara, but instead already drafting ideas in her notebook.

“Excuse you?”

Her tone of voice made Ava look up. Her eyes were bright and blue and narrowed at Ava.

“I’m sure you’ve got movie dates and friends to hang out with and whatnot, so don’t worry your pretty little head about this school project.”

“Do you know me? Did I piss you off in some way that I’m unaware of? Or do you just have that stick up your butt with everyone?”

Ava couldn’t help feeling a bit flustered. Maybe she was being a bit presumptuous, but there was no need for Sara to have said that.

“No, I’m just trying to survive this class with my GPA intact and group projects never help with that.”

“We’re not a group so much as a pair.”

“What?”

“We’re paired up. Two people is hardly a group. Anyway, shouldn’t we at least come up with a topic together? What if Mr. Stein asks me what we’re doing? I’m not just going to say that my partner has it handled.”

Ava sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Do you have any brilliant ideas?”

“Hmmmm...every day physics....how about we go to an amusement park?”

Sure. Go somewhere to play. That is exactly the type of idea Ava would have expected from someone like Sara. “Yeah, I’m sure Mr. Stein will be super impressed with how many times you can ride the cyclone.”  
“No, hear me out. We take force meters and see how much force is exerted on different types of rides. We calculate things like potential energy and maximum acceleration.”

Ava hesitated. It didn’t suck. It was actually a pretty good idea. Damn. “Okay. Not bad, I guess. We need to flesh it out, though.”

Ava regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth and a smug smirk played across Sara’s lips.

“We, huh? You’ve decided I’m allowed to work on it with you after all?”

Before Ava could respond, the bell rang and Sara was up and out of her seat, slinging her backpack over one shoulder. She paused and gave Ava a long look, smirk still in place.

“What?” Ava demanded.

Sara shrugged. “You think I’m pretty. Or you think my head is, at least.”

With that, Sara left the room, disappearing into the mad shuffle of the hallways, leaving Ava spluttering her protestations.

She didn’t. When she’d said “pretty little head” it had been condescending, not complimentary.

Stupid Sara was misinterpreting it on purpose.

This assignment was going to suck.

  
  


“You should probably ask me for my number.”  
The voice was way too close and way too...seductive? Seriously who could sound that suggestive at 11 in the morning? Ava wheeled around to find Sara in line behind her. Couldn’t she get her lunch in peace?   
“Why would I ask for your number?”   
“Well, see, there’s this thing called communication and when two people aren’t right next to each other like we are now, we have these handy little phones that fit in our pockets and allow us to communicate from a distance.”

“Right, no, obviously, but why would I want to communicate with you from a distance?”  
“You prefer up close and personal. Nice,” Sara replied leaning in a little closer with a wink.

Ava felt her cheeks grow hot. “No. I mean-“

Sara rolled her eyes with a small laugh. “Relax. Apart from the fact that you think I’m pretty, how about because we’re doing a project together. Remember? Amusement park? Everyday physics? Ringing any bells?”

“I don’t think you’re- Ugh. Not the point.” Ava took a deep breath. She couldn’t let Sara get under her skin. She would be civil through this project and then they could resume their normal lives of ignoring each other. It would be fine. “Okay, what’s your number?”

Sara looked mildly surprised and for a split second Ava felt pleased with herself until Sara said, “I didn’t think you’d cave so quickly.”

Ava narrowed her eyes. Why was this girl doing everything she could to exasperate her? What had she done to deserve this?

Sara held out her hand and Ava stared at it blankly until Sara sighed and said, “If you give me your phone, I’ll put my number in it.”

“Oh, right.”

Ava pulled out her phone and hesitated. It wasn’t like she had revealing photos or something that she thought Sara would go prying into, it was just that somehow handing over her phone felt...too personal.

Sara bounced her hand impatiently and Ava handed it over.

“Here....you...go,” Sara said as she put in her number and handed it back.

“Thanks,” Ava replied, although she didn’t feel overly appreciative.

“Text me later and we’ll set up a time to get together and figure out exactly what we’re going to do so we can get our proposal to Mr. Stein.”

Ava had to admit that Sara was more into getting this assignment done properly than she’d have imagined. “Yeah. Okay,” she murmured. She looked back at Sara, suddenly unsure what to make of her really.

“You’re up,” Sara said.

“Huh?”

Sara gestured to the lunch line and Ava remembered where exactly she was and what she was supposed to be doing. “Right.” She set about quickly getting her food and shuffling off to pay, but not before Sara leaned in behind her and said, “Talk to you later.”

It wasn’t overtly obnoxious, but there was something in her tone of voice that made Ava feel like Sara was far too amused about something, and she didn’t like it. At all.   


  


“Did you just get Sara Lance’s phone number?” Amaya asked her, eyes wide in surprise, as she sat down next to her.

“What? Oh, yeah,” Ava replied, picking at the supposed lasagna on her tray dubiously.

“Wow. Go you! I mean I know it’s not like there are a lot of out people to choose from around here, but still...I’m impressed.”

It took Ava a second to catch up to what Amaya was saying. Her face twisted in disgust. “No. It’s not like that. We’re partners for that stupid physics project.”

“Since when do you think anything school related is stupid?”

“Since I got paired with Sara Lance against my will.”

Amaya rolled her eyes. “How horrible that you got paired with the one person probably everyone else would kill to be paired with.”

“She’s not that great. She just thinks she is.”

Amaya raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“We’re just doing a school project. It’s not exciting. It’s annoying. I don’t understand why the teachers won’t let me work alone.”

“Being social isn’t a sin Ava.”

“Neither is doing a good job at the things that are important.”

Amaya stayed silent for a few minutes, fingers absentmindedly coming up to stroke her necklace, a family heirloom. Ava had come to learn that that meant that Amaya was thinking, and often when Amaya was thinking, she was about to dole out thoughtful advice that Ava probably didn’t want to hear. Unfortunately, it was also usually good advice.

“You know, some people would consider making meaningful connections with people and broadening their circle of friends an important part of life.”

There it was. Ava rolled her eyes.

“Can we just talk about ANYTHING else?”

“Sure,” Amaya conceded.

Ava breathed a sigh of relief.

  
  


Ava almost forgot all about Sara Lance’s phone number. It wasn’t until she was about to go to bed and was carefully organizing her homework folder that she remembered. What was she going to say. “Hey this is Ava. Let’s talk about he project” sounded dorky. “It’s Ava. I’m free xyz days/times to work on the project” she was sure would be taken as flirty. “It’s Ava” was too brusque and didn’t even reference the project.

She unlocked her phone, opened the contacts and scrolled down to S. No Sara. She went to L. No Sara.

“What?” she muttered aloud.

She scrolled slowly through her contacts, hitting P before she found her, and it was definitely, infuriatingly her.

Ava sighed heavily as she clicked on “Pretty Project Partner” complete with the blowing a kiss smiley face.

_You know it would have been a lot easier for me to text you if you’d put yourself under your name_ she typed out quickly.

She tossed her phone down on her bed in annoyance and stomped off to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was a minute and a half in, just moving to the fourth quadrant of her teeth, before she realised she’d never said who she was and Sara had never gotten a text from her before. Well, unless she was a complete idiot, which, given her inability to grasp that Ava hadn’t actually been calling her pretty, was entirely possible, she’d figure out who’d texted.

When she got back to her room, she went straight to her phone and picked it up, her heart pounding a little too quickly in her chest. No reply. She wasn’t disappointed. Not REALLY.   
She got her pajamas on and went to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. When she got back, she picked up her phone again. Not to check it. Not really. So it was fine that there was still no reply.

She plugged it in and set her alarm and snuggled into bed with a book.

She was annoyed to find that even though she’d really been enjoying the book just last night, tonight she couldn’t really get into it. She kept glancing at her phone.

Which was stupid, she told herself. So what if Sara didn’t text her back tonight? She probably wasn’t that serious about the project anyway, and they still had over a week before the proposal was even due so there was no real urgency anyway.

She tried getting into her book for another forty minutes with minimal success before she gave up. She’d just turned off her light and curled up under the blankets when she heard her phone vibrate.

“Finally,” she muttered, annoyed with herself that she’d been waiting for a reply in the first place.

_I see you found me anyway ;)_ was the reply.

Ugh. That stupid winky face. Ava could just picture the smirk on Sara’s smug little face.

_Only by scrolling carefully through my contacts,_ she typed back.

_But you assumed that pretty project partner was me,_ came the reply.

_I have no other project partners. Anyway, you wanted me to text, so I’m texting. When do you want to get together?_

_How forward. I like a girl who goes after what she wants_.

Ava shook her head. Why was Sara so insufferable? Why did she have to interpret everything flirtily? _For the PROJECT. For SCHOOL stuff._

_I’m free Sunday afternoon_ , came Sara’s reply a few minutes later.

Good. No winky faces. No flirting. No innuendos. Maybe she was finally getting the hint.

_Ok. Sunday works for me. 2 pm?_

_It’s a date!_

Then again maybe not. 

_ NOT a date. _

There was no further reply and Ava put her phone down and rolled over and closed her eyes. She didn’t feel that tired anymore, but she needed to go to sleep. She couldn’t let Sara get in her head. 

It wasn’t like Sara really meant anything by the flirting anyway. She wasn’t actually trying to hit on her. She was just trying to annoy her. Hell, Sara didn’t even know she was gay...probably, anyway. She wasn’t exactly in the closet, but she wasn’t exactly out of it either. Her family knew and her close friends, but it wasn’t like she had the most active dating life so it was hardly common knowledge around school. Anyway, someone like Sara wouldn’t really be interested in someone like her. 

Not that Ava would be interested in someone like Sara either. Not that Ava WANTED Sara to be interested in her. 

No, it was all a big joke to Sara.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara keeps surprising Ava and they have their first study date. It is definitely not an actual date. Ava definitely doesn't want it to be one. Sara is barely tolerable at best, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have all been so sweet in your feedback. <3 Thank you! It has motivated me to steal a moment on this weekend where me and my kids are all sick and post the next chapter! I was nervous about writing for a new fandom, but you've all made this an easy transition so far, so thanks again. It's unlikely that I'll be able to keep up this pace of updating, but I have managed to do some editing, and divided what's already written into the first 12 chapters, so there's that. Yay! I hope you all continue to enjoy this story!

“Morning, Sunshine.”

The words caught her off guard, but the voice she recognized this time. She looked up from her book to find Sara leaning casually against the locker beside her.

How could someone look so annoyingly good leaning against a locker? Ava knew if she tried it, she’d look awkward rather than cool.  
She eyed Sara skeptically. What could she want? Why did she call her “Sunshine”? It was more annoying pseudo-flirting, of course.

Sara raised an eyebrow expectantly.

“Hi?” Ava hazarded.

“Wow, way to bowl me over with your greeting,” Sara replied, though she didn’t look remotely offended. In fact, she was smiling in an amused sort of way.

Ava rolled her eyes.

“Anyway,” Sara said, dropping down to sit beside her, much to Ava’s surprise. “I was thinking about Sunday.”

Here it was. Sara was going to cancel and then she’d cancel the next time, too, and then Ava would end up doing all the work.

“Let me guess, you can’t make it,” Ava said with a sigh.

Sara looked momentarily taken aback. “I can, and I plan to, I just wanted to know if we could make it 3 instead. Apparently my mom’s coming to town and wants to take me to lunch so I can meet her new boyfriend and pretend like everything is completely fine and happy, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to escape by 2. I don’t want to be late, so I figured I’d see if we could reschedule.”

“Oh.” Ava felt her cheeks growing hot. Clearly there was more going on with Sara than she was aware of. Of course there was. She barely knew her. “Um, yeah. 3 is fine.”

“Good. Thanks,” Sara replied. “And if it takes a while we can grab dinner because one family meal a day is plenty for me.”

Grabbing dinner...with Sara Lance. That sounded...somewhere between enticing and hellish. Or maybe it just sounded weird. “Yeah, okay,” she heard herself respond.

“Cool,” Sara said, shooting her a smile that most definitely did not have any effect at all on Ava.

None at all.

Sara reached over and lifted up her book and glanced at the title. “Any good?”  
Ava tried not to notice how warm Sara’s fingers were when they brushed against her when she pulled her hand back. “Uh, yeah. I like it. It’s kind of dark at points, but well-written.”

“Nothing wrong with dark,” Sara replied.

“Am I interrupting something here?” a voice that Ava knew all-too-well asked.

Ava looked up at Amaya to find a rather smug expression on her face. “No!” Ava assured her quickly.

She definitely wasn’t disappointed when Sara got to her feet beside her.

“Hey, I’m -“

“Amaya Jiwe. I caught your demonstration at the martial arts expo last month. How long have you trained?”

Amaya looked as surprised as Ava felt.

“Since I was little.”

“You’re good,” Sara said. “Anyway, gotta run. See you in class later.” Sara gave Ava a little nod.

“Yeah, right.  See you.”

Ava felt...overwhelmed. Nothing about this was going the way she expected.

Amaya raised an eyebrow at her, clearly waiting for her to explain. “We were talking about getting together to work on the physics project.”

“Sure. And the book you were reading. And she chose to spend her before school time sitting and talking to you instead of hanging out with her other friends.”

“Other implies that I am also her friend. That is incredibly inaccurate.”

Amaya shrugged. “If you say so. At least it seems like you’re not going to have to do all the project work yourself this time.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“So when are you going to get together with her?”

“Amaya, it’s not like that! I promise!”

Amaya looked at her confused and it took Ava an embarrassingly long second to realize that Amaya had innocently meant the question in regards to the school project, not in a teasing way about them dating.

“Oh. Sunday afternoon.”

Amaya smirked. “You thought I meant together together.”

“No I didn’t.”

Amaya just looked at her knowingly.

“Okay, yes, I did, but only because Sara has this annoying way of finding an innuendo in absolutely everything so I had my defenses up.”

“Ok,” Amaya said in a way that didn’t sound like she believed Ava in the slightest.

Ava was saved from the uncomfortable conversation by the warning bell.

  
  


There was no reason she should have been nervous. No reason at all. Not right before meeting up with Sara and certainly not all weekend leading up to it.

She glanced around the library and checked her watch. It wasn’t time yet. She’d been a half hour early because she’d been going crazy waiting at home. She half expected Sara to still text and cancel on her, but ten minutes to 3 and no message yet.

With one minute to spare Sara blew into the library, slinging her backpack down and plopping noisily into the seat across from Ava. She did not appear to be her usual calm, smug self.

“God, some people are just...” Sara mimed strangling someone with a growl then dropped her hands to her side.

Ava was smart enough to know that Sara was not referring to her.

“Lunch went well?”

“It’s just my mom wants to live with her head in the sand and my dad wants to live with his head in a bottle and then fucking Bob...honestly who is really named Bob? Who thinks ‘I have this name Robert that has some dignity to it but I think I’ll go by Bob.’? It’s like people named Richard who actually choose the nickname Dick.”

Ava filed away “head in a bottle” for later analysis and focused on the Bob thing. “Bob the boyfriend.”

“Bob the dick.”

“Not a fan, I take it.”

“Not unless fantasizing about castrating him counts as being a fan.”

“Wow.”

“Sorry. You’re not here to hear me vent.” Sara said, bending down and opening her backpack. She pulled out a notebook and opened it up. “So I looked up a list of rides at the park because I was thinking we should do like a few varieties. Not just rollercoasters, but like a ride that drops you straight up and down and one that spins you or one that rocks back and forth like one of those boat ones, right? See how the forces compare and what directions they act in and stuff.”

Ava’s jaw dropped, but then she closed her mouth quickly. Sara Lance had actually done work before their first project meeting. That was...unexpected.

“Don’t look so shocked. If I do well I get into more colleges. If I get into more colleges, the odds of me going further away increase. The further away I am, the fewer meals with family members I have to attend.”

“Was lunch really that bad?”

“You don’t really want to know about my family drama,” Sara replied. “You want to make sure I don’t spoil your perfect GPA.”

Ava squirmed in her seat, embarrassed that Sara was quite so on the nose with her accusation. Except that Ava couldn’t help being a little curious about Sara and her family. It wasn’t real interest of course. She didn’t care. It was just human nature. Humans were naturally curious creatures.

“Anyway, I’ve got a list here of which rides I think would be our best choices and which physics concepts I think they demonstrate. And here’s a list of the equipment I think we’ll need to borrow from school.” Sara swivelled her notebook around so that Ava could read her notes.

They were well organized. That definitely wasn’t hot at all. Notone bit. Nope.

“Okay, but we should probably come up with a list of questions we hope to answer, equations we plan to use, and our hypotheses for each ride,” Ava said after reading them over.

“We can probably hammer that out today, maybe get our proposal in next week, and then start planning our trip to the amusement park?” Sara suggested.

Again, Ava was surprised. This was not at all how she had envisioned this going. For starters, Sara hadn’t made a single innuendo.

Maybe she was sick.

  
  


Two hours later Ava felt confident that their project would go well and Mr. Stein was sure to okay their proposal no problem. Sara had been surprisingly pleasant to work with. She’d largely refrained from flirty comments, though she hadn’t held back entirely. Ava was beginning to think that maybe she was actually kind of tolerable after all.

“You hungry?” Sara asked, throwing her backpack over her shoulder.

“What?”

“Food. Do you want some?”

Ava hesitated. The work was done. There was really no need to push her newfound tolerance of Sara. And, yet, she found herself nodding. “Yeah, I could eat.”

“Great. I’m starving!”

“Didn’t you just have lunch not that long ago?”

“I didn’t have an appetite then,” Sara replied grimly. “So, dinner?” she prompted, looking at Ava expectantly.

She should say no, Ava thought. The work they were going to do today was done. There was no reason they should spend more time together. Plus they’d just see each other at school the next day.

“My treat,” Sara added, a glint in her eyes and an almost charming grin on her face.

“Okay,” Ava agreed, though money had not been a factor in her hesitation. It was just dinner. How annoying could Sara be through one meal?

  
  


Ava didn’t have too much of a chance to overthink things until they were at a nearby pizza place waiting for their food to arrive, but now, here she was, out for dinner with Sarah Lance, struggling to work out how to start a conversation.

Sara, for her part, seemed amused. She was looking at Ava expectantly, but Ava didn’t see her making any efforts to start a conversation.

“So...” Ava started, only to realise that she had nothing to follow it up with.

Sara raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Ava felt her face growing hot.

Dammit it wasn’t like it was a date. It was two...acquaintances sharing a meal for convenience. Maybe conversation wasn’t strictly necessary.

“You’re cute when you’re squirming,” Sara said a few long, awkward minutes later.

Ava glared. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Why do you flirt with EVERYONE?”  
Sara looked momentarily taken aback. “I don’t, but is there anything wrong with flirting with people you find attractive?”

Ava knew that didn’t apply in her case. Sara only wanted to get under her skin. Of that she was sure.

“No. I mean, I guess is harmless. It’s just you have like half the female student body willing to turn for you, and -“

“And you wish you’d thought to try flirting with more of them?” Sara finished for her.

“What? I-“ Ava contemplated her options. There was no real point in denying she was gay when a) she didn’t care that Sara knew and b) Sara clearly wasn’t homophobic. “How did you know?”

“When I flirted you didn’t act like you were opposed to the idea of being flirted with by a girl, but you also didn’t have that fresh-faced, ‘surprise I might actually like kissing a girl’ reaction.”

“So from there you decided I must be gay?”

“It seemed likely,” Sara replied with a shrug. “Or bi or pan. Somewhere on the spectrum.”

“Gay. I’m not remotely interested in finding a guy.”

“Good to know,” Sara replied with a wink.

Before Ava could appropriately respond with something along the lines of “I’m not interested in you either,” her phone buzzed.  
She pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was Amaya and she was not being funny.

 _How was your study date?_ read the message across the screen.

Ava glanced at Sara. “Do you mind if I respond?”

Sara shook her head and gestured that Ava should go ahead.

_Not a study date and we’re just grabbing dinner._

_Oh, so it’s a date date_ came Amaya’s quick reply.

Ava decided that this conversation would best be finished later over the phone, and that it would probably involve yelling.

“Anyone I know?” Sara inquired leaning forward and moving to peer at Ava’s screen.

Ava put her phone away quickly. “Just Amaya.”

“She seems cool,” Sara said, leaning back in her seat again.

“She’s straight,” Ava informed her, though she wasn’t entirely sure why that was her initial response.

Sara smirked as if she knew something Ava didn’t. “I didn’t mean I wanted to date her,” she said with a chuckle.

“Right, yeah, I just-“

“Got jealous for a second?”

“What? No! No. I mean why would I be jealous. Try to date her if you want, just you could probably spend that time getting someone who might actually like girls,” Ava rambled.

“Like you,” Sara commented with a smug grin which made Ava want to wipe it off her face.

How had his conversation gotten quite so far away from her?

Before she could respond, the server arrived with their pizza, and Sara dug in, so Ava followed suit, though not without a glare shot in Sara’s direction.

If Sara noticed it, she didn’t seem bothered by it.

“You know, I’ll never understand those girls who don’t really eat. You know the ones who order a salad and only use half the dressing and refuse to steal a French fry. Have they even tried pizza? They should,” Sara commented with her mouth half full.

Ava had to agree, but she didn’t have to do so aloud. “Maybe they’re just dieting.”

“Look, if you’re trying to make yourself healthier, that’s fine. That’s great. If you’re stick thin and you won’t indulge in some cheese? What’s wrong with you?”  
Ava didn’t have a response to that. She agreed with the sentiment.

“Mmm...or chocolate. You know what the best meal is? Cheese fondue followed by chocolate fondue. You cannot go wrong with it,” Sara said, closing her eyes as if imagining the taste. She licked her lips and let out a small contented hum.

Ava wasn’t really staring, but dammit she was attractive...in a sort of annoying kind of way.

When Sara opened her eyes, Ava looked away quickly, suddenly incredibly interested in the stringiness of the cheese on her pizza.

“What’s your favorite food?” Sara asked. If she had caught Ava watching her, her voice didn’t betray it.

Ava thought for a moment.

“If you say salad, I’m going to have to throw crust at you,” Sara warned.

Ava let out a small laugh.

“So you DO have a sense of humor! I was starting to worry!” Sara declared.

“Hey! I have a great sense of humor, thank you very much,” Ava replied defensively.

“You’ve barely cracked a smile since we started talking,” Sara countered.  
“Maybe that’s just the effect you have on me,” Ava shot back. She regretted it instantly because in actuality spending the afternoon with Sara hadn’t been half bad, but Sara, much to her surprise, didn’t look offended.

She sat back and studied Ava for a minute, and then she smiled. “THAT’s the effect I have on you, huh?”

“No. Well, I mean you do have a tendency to - Look the point is that I have a sense of humor and it’s not my fault if you’re just not as funny as you think you are.”

Sara chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Miss “Sense of Humor” Sharpe. Relax. All I really meant is it’s nice to see you laugh and relax a little. It won’t kill you to focus on something besides school for ten minutes. It might even be good for you.”

“You sound like Amaya,” Ava muttered, both annoyed at Sara and a little thrown by her comment about it being nice to see her smile.

“Amaya sounds very smart.”

“She’s still straight.”

“I’m still not interested in her like that,” Sara replied.

Sara leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table on either side of her plate, and studied her for a moment. “You really think I just hit on everyone, don’t you?”

Ava bit back her retort of “that’s certainly what it seems like.” Instead, she shrugged.

“My standards aren’t that low,” Sara informed her, eyes still trained steadily on Ava.

Ava squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “So not just anything in a skirt that’s breathing?” She attempted to say it as a joke, but it fell flat even to her own ears.

“I prefer them actually interested in girls with a brain in their heads,” Sara replied, looking her in the eyes. Then she leaned back in her chair and picked out another slice of pizza. “You never said your favourite food.”

“What?” Ava said caught off guard. Into girls and with a brain had not meant her, she told her suddenly racing pulse. Or if she somehow HAD been implying Ava she was undoubtedly just fishing for a reaction.

“Fav-o-rite food,” Sara repeated, enunciating each syllable.

“Right. Yeah. Forgot. Um...does chocolate count?”

“Yes. A+. Chocolate is an acceptable answer if not a balanced meal.”

She didn’t really need Sara’s approval. Or want it, obviously. Still, she smiled to herself for a second before going back to eating pizza.

  
  


Ava was pleased that they managed to finish eating without the conversation getting away from her again. Of course, they did more eating than talking, but still a win as far as she was concerned. It wasn’t until the bill came that Ava remembered just how insufferable Sara could really be.

She’d assumed they were going to split it. Any reasonable person would have assumed they were going to split it. But, no. Sara grabbed the check as soon as it was set on the table and wouldn’t even tell Ava how much it was.

“What kind of a date would I be if I let you pay?” Sara teased.

“The kind who knew this wasn’t a date!” Ava snapped in annoyance. Why was she so capable of properly doing the work that needed to get done and so incapable of acknowledging the true nature of their get together.

“It’s a work date and it’s on me,” Sara replied with a wink, handing the check and some cash to the server when she returned. “Besides, I said I’d pay. I have to keep my word.”

Ava huffed. “You’re insufferable.”

“Some girls consider me charming.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not some girls,” Ava retorted, picking up her bag and getting up to leave. She’d leave some money anonymously in Sara’s locker or something. She didn’t want to owe Sara anything.

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Sara replied, standing beside her.

Ava narrowed her eyes at Sara, trying to decide what she might have meant by that. Sara just looked back at her with an innocent expression on her face.

Sara’s phone rang as they were stepping out of the pizza place and she pulled it out, looked at the screen, and sighed.

“Hey, hang on,” Sara said, reaching out to catch Ava’s arm.

Her hand was warm and unexpected on Ava’s skin, and a shiver ran down Ava’s spine. She nodded and Sara dropped her arm then answered the call.

“Hey,” was Sara’s unenthusiastic greeting.  
Ava heard a male voice on the other end of the phone, but couldn’t make out what it was saying.

“Yeah, sorry. I meant to text,” Sara said, not sounding remotely apologetic.

Ava watched Sara as her body tensed and she rolled her eyes. A moment later Sara caught her staring. Sara shot her a small smirk and mouthed, “Sorry. My dad.” She pointed at her phone.

Ava nodded and looked away, embarrassed.

“No, I’m not coming home tonight,” Sara said.

Ava felt her stomach turn uncomfortably. She hoped the pizza hadn’t been bad. It had tasted delicious.

So Sara had a real date planned for after this. She’d probably just needed to fuel up for the acrobatic sex Ava was sure she was capable of. Not that Ava cared. Not that Ava had thought about Sara having sex. She was just muscular and athletic-looking.

Sara growled into her phone. “Dad, I DID tell you!...When?...How about this morning when I woke you up next to the bowl of cereal you poured half on the floor at 3 a.m.?”

Ava frowned and turned around. She pretended to be as interested as possible in the signs for stores and restaurants up the block.

The words “I’m staying at Ava’s,” made Ava swivel back around in shock.

“What?” she demanded.

Sara threw her a wink.

“Who’s Ava?” Sara continued talking to her dad. “My girlfriend.”

Sara’s eyes glinted with mischief and Ava was sure that the smug grin on her face was in response to her incredulous one.

“No, Dad, I can’t.” Sara turned around, annoyance etched across her features. “Dad, I gotta go...No, I’ll text you later, Dad. And remember you have work at 7 tomorrow.” She hung up without a goodbye.

Ava was left wondering which person was actually responsible for parenting if Sara had to remind her dad about work.

She didn’t want to pry, though, so instead she said, “You know I’m not your girlfriend, right?”

“I feel like you have very little faith in my ability to recognize reality,” Sara replied, narrowing her eyes at Ava and tilting her head to the side.

“It’s just you said-“

“The first explanation that came to mind to get my dad of my back? Yep. And you made it way too fun.”

Ava blushed. OF COURSE she had been trying to get a rise out of her. “So then you know you’re not staying at my house tonight.”

“I know. I’m staying at Jax’s house. Saying a girl’s name just freaks my dad out less even if I’m just as likely, or more likely, even, to be sleeping with them.” Sara shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Parents.”

“So you and Jax...?” Ava couldn’t stop herself from asking.  
“Are just friends,” Sara replied, smirking slightly. “Worried?”

“No!” Ava declared maybe a tad too forcefully. She wasn’t, though. Sara could sleep with whoever she wanted.

“Right, well, anyway, I was gonna say, if we hand the proposal in Monday then Stein will probably get it back to us Wednesday so maybe Thursday or Friday we can get together after school? We can edit whatever we need to about our plan and organize the actual amusement park trip?”

Again Ava was caught off guard by how on top of this project Sara was. She almost felt like she was slacking for once. “Yeah, sounds good,” she agreed.

“Good, huh? See? You’re coming around to me,” Sara said with a grin and a wink.

“You’ve proven surprisingly tolerable,” Ava conceded, even though in that moment Sara was edging back towards insufferable.

“Tolerable. Wow. You sure know how to flatter a girl,” Sara said, fanning herself with her hand.

“Wouldn’t want you to get a big head,” Ava replied in a playful way.

Sara grinned and tilted her head to the side. “Did you just...Was that flirting?”

Ava’s eyes went wide. “What? No!”

Sara’s grin grew. “I think that was just a touch flirtatious, Miss Sharpe.  Between that and you calling me pretty I might start to get the wrong idea about your feelings for me.”

“I didn’t call you pretty!!” Ava groaned in frustration.

“Sure you didn’t,” Sara replied with an even wider grin. “Well, Ava Sharpe, I’ll catch you around school tomorrow. And don’t worry your pretty little head: I won’t tell anyone you actually know how to have fun. Your secret is safe with me.”

With that, Sara winked, then turned and walked away.

Ava stared after her, half annoyed, half perplexed. Of course she knew how to have fun. She had lots of fun. But if Sara thought that Ava saying “your pretty little head” meant that she was calling Sara pretty, did that mean that Sara had just called her pretty? Was that her way of telling her that? No. Except…

She was messing with her. That was it. Ava rolled her eyes and headed towards home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava gets some wise words from bestie, Amaya, and definitely does NOT flirt with Sara during physics class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twins who didn't nap and a sick spouse means I'm actually awake while everyone else is asleep and have time to post this chapter! Hooray! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I really appreciate all of the feedback! You've all been so kind! xx

“Before you ask, it wasn’t a date,” Ava answered her phone. 

Amaya laughed. “Your immediate denial only makes me wonder.”

“We did our work, and, okay, she was surprisingly on top of things and is actually really contributing, but then she asked if I was hungry and I was and she was so we got pizza. The end.”

“I feel like maybe you’re glossing over a few of the details there,” Amaya accused, sounding amused. 

“The pizza was good,” Ava supplied. 

“Not the kind of details I had in mind,” Amaya said. 

Ava knew that, but it wasn’t like there were really important details to give. Amaya would just read too much into them anyway. “It was school work and food. It’s not like anything drastic happened.”

“You went out to dinner with the hottest girl to ever walk into school, who just happens to have raised through the ranks of the high school social system to the top tier of cool kids in under 3 months, who also happens to be interested in girls, and that’s all you’re going to give me?”

“You sound like you have a crush on her,” Ava muttered accusingly. 

“I don’t have to be gay to have eyes, Ava.”

“Eyes that I have used to see that you two would make a cute couple,” Amaya added when a reply from Ava was not forthcoming.

Ava rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Might want to get those eyes checked by a doctor, Amaya.”

“My eyes are fine. Just because, and I say this with love, you are the world’s biggest nerd -“

“Hey!”

“It’s true.”

“It is,” Ava conceded. 

“That does not mean that you would not match well with Sara.”

“Okay, even if you were right-“

“I’m always right,” Amaya interjected, and Ava didn’t bother to acknowledge that it did seem like Amaya was right an obnoxious amount of the time about, like, everything. 

“Even if you were, that doesn’t change that this was just a school project thing between acquaintances.”

“How much did she flirt with you?” Amaya asked knowingly.

“Not at all,” Ava lied. 

“Please. I’m not sure Sara is capable of talking to a pretty girl without dropping some flirtatious line just to weigh potential interest.”

Someone else calling her pretty. At least she didn’t have to wonder about Amaya’s motivations. It wasn’t like she thought she was unattractive, it was just that there were so many more important things about her besides her appearance. Her brain, for instance. And her work ethic. Normally when compliments were thrown her way, they were about things like that.

“Okay, fine. She may have flirted a little, but not to really hit on me. She was just trying to rile me up.”

“She was just trying to gauge your reactions,” Amaya corrected. 

“Yeah, to see how much she could annoy me.”

“Or to see how interested you might be,” Amaya countered. 

“She doesn’t even think I have a sense of humor. Why would she possibly be interested in me?” 

“I don’t know. You’re smart? You’re gorgeous? You’re kind? You have goals in life? Those are some pretty desirable things to look for in a partner.”

Ava didn’t want to admit that Amaya might have a point. 

“What makes you say that she thinks you don’t have a sense of humor?” Amaya asked.

“She acted all shocked when I laughed at something she said.”

“So she made you laugh.” 

Ava could hear the smugness in Amaya’s voice. “I feel like you’re focusing on the wrong thing here.”

Ava didn’t have to be with Amaya to know that she was rolling her eyes. “You have a good sense of humor, and I’m sure Sara knows that. Sometimes you can come across as standoffish, especially if you’re unsure where you stand with the person, or they make you uncomfortable. Like if you like them, for instance.”

“I don’t. I mean not like you mean.”

There was a skeptical silence on the other end of the call. 

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter if she knows I have a sense of humor. She’s not really interested in me and I wouldn’t care if she was because I’m definitely not interested in her.”

“So when’s your next date?”

“There’s no next date! There was no first date!”

“When are you seeing her again?” Amaya rephrased. 

“Tomorrow in school.”

“And out of school?” Amaya persisted.

Ava sighed heavily. She was going to find out anyway. “Thursday or Friday probably.”

  
  
  


“Hey there, Sunshine.” 

Ava looked up in surprise to find Sara taking the seat beside her in physics. 

“Hi?”

“Am I not allowed to sit with you even though you now find me tolerable?” Sara asked with an amused grin. 

“Uh, no, go ahead,” Ava replied, glancing around the classroom and catching a few glares and a few surprised looks. “You know we’re not working on the project in class today, right?” she asked. 

Sara cocked her head to the side and studied her for a moment. “You know, I feel like you still largely have the wrong impression of me. Or at least the wrong impression about my motivations.”

“Which are?” Ava asked. 

Sara grinned. “Guess you’ll have to spend time with me to find out,” she replied with a wink. 

“Yeah, well, your fan club doesn’t seem to be thrilled with this move,” Ava informed her, glancing at Guinevere who always acted like sharing the name of a fictional queen meant she could act like a total princess. She had been shooting Ava daggers since Sara sat down next to her.

Sara must have followed her gaze because she sighed heavily and said,  “Don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine. She’s just not used to hearing the word no.”

“I always thought she was straight,” Ava muttered, looking down at her open notebook. She picked up her pen and dated the page. 

“Pretty sure she was interested in me for the attention it would bring her, not because she was actually interested in me,” Sara replied.

“Sounds like a wonderful person to spend your time with,” Ava muttered. 

“Why do you think I’ve upgraded?” 

Ava didn’t know what to say to that. Guinevere might have been annoying but she was objectively beautiful and definitely on the more popular side, but Sara thought that Ava was an upgrade. Ava knew that she’d rather spend time in her own company than in Guinevere’s, but it felt weird hearing Sara basically say that she would too. “Oh,” she finally said in a small voice.

“Plus it’s easier to cheat off you from here,” Sara added. 

“What??!” Ava looked up to glare at Sara, but as soon as she did and she saw the grin on her face, she knew that Sara had just been trying to provoke her. 

“There she is. That blushing girl who was here a second ago was cute, but I prefer normal Ava.”

Did Sara just call her cute? Did she mean it? This was starting to get confusing. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t blush,” Ava replied, looking straight ahead. With a small smile she added, “or have a sense of humor.”

“Did you just-“ Sara began, smiling slightly with her head tilted to the side, wagging her finger in Ava’s direction. Before she could say anymore the teacher entered the room and the bell rang. 

As the class began, Sara reached over and scribbled something on the side of Ava’s notebook. As she did so, her hair fell against Ava’s hand and the subtle perfume of her shampoo washed over Ava. Okay, tolerable or insufferable, Sara smelled REALLY good. 

She peered curiously at her notebook when Sara sat back up. 

_ That almost seemed like you were teasing me _ , read the message scrawled in a tidy print. 

Ava glanced at Sara who appeared to be paying close attention to the start of the lesson.

Ava scribbled,  _ I’m pretty sure I was. _

Sara didn’t appear to notice. 

Ava nudged her arm gently. 

Sara’s eyes flicked to her in surprise.

Ava nodded towards her notebook and Sara leaned closer again. A smirk spread across her face when she read Ava’s reply, and then she was writing something else. Ava leaned forward to read as Sara sat up straight. 

_ Teasing is practically flirting, you know. _

“Is not,” Ava hissed at Sara, which earned her a few glances from some nearby classmates. 

_ NOT flirting! _ She wrote on her notebook, underlining it twice. 

Sara smirked again. 

_ It’s okay, Sunshine, you can flirt with me anytime _ came Sara’s written reply, complete with a winking smiley face blowing a kiss. At least, that’s what it looked like to Ava. 

Insufferable, Ava decided. She wasn’t going to indulge Sara anymore. Instead, she tuned into the teacher and began taking notes. By the end of class she’d practically forgotten the note exchange, but she wasn’t able to forget who exactly was sitting beside her. In case Guinevere continuing to shoot glares her way wasn’t enough, Sara kept making little comments under her breath. Okay, so most of them were pretty amusing and only a few of them were suggestive, but they were distracting, and Ava wasn’t in the class to be distracted. She was there to learn.

At the end of the class Guinevere seemed to drag her feet, shooting glances at Sara the whole time, but Sara and Ava had already agreed to hang back to hand in their proposal to Mr. Stein, so in the end Guinevere left with a scowl on her face while Sara perched on the desk with a smirk, watching Ava flip efficiently through her homework folder and produce the write up that she’d typed based on the work they’d done at the library. 

Mr. Stein seemed quite pleased to have a group hand in their proposal already and promised to have it back to them no later than the end of the day Wednesday. 

“Guess our next date’s Thursday, then,” Sara murmured in Ava’s ear as they exited the classroom. Before Ava could contradict her about the date part, Sara had disappeared into the bustling hallway of students with a called out, “Catch you later, Sunshine!”

  
  
  


“Hey, can I see your physics notes?” Amaya asked at lunch on Tuesday. 

“Sure, what’s up?” Ava asked, digging into her backpack and pulling out her notebook. She handed it over to Amaya who turned to the most recent notes and started flipping back. 

“I just was working on some homework last night and was having trouble with one bit and my notes were kind of bad for that section, but I knew Miss Perfect Color-Coded Notes would have-“

Amaya stopped mid sentence and turned to Ava with a smug grin. “What are these?”

Ava peered at her notebook unsure of what Amaya could be referring to. When she saw, she grimaced. She’d forgotten about exchanging notes with Sara the day before. 

“Nothing. Just some stupid notes.”

“Ava, this is flirting.”

“Clearly you can’t read because it says right there, underlined ‘not flirting’,” Ava corrected.

“Is this with who I think it’s with?” Amaya asked, still looking far too smug. 

“I don’t know who you think it is,” Ava lied. Of course Amaya had already worked out that it was Sara. Of course she was going to read too much into it. 

Amaya grinned. “Yes you do. And it is, isn’t it?”

“Who?” Ava attempted to play innocent still.

Amaya rolled her eyes. “It’s Sara.”

Ava shrugged. “So? Still not flirting and really not a big deal.”

“You were passing notes with Sara Lance in physics and it’s not a big deal?”

“Precisely,” Ava replied. 

Amaya let our a small laugh. “Ava, when’s the last time you did anything besides what you were supposed to be doing in class?”

Ava shrugged. “English class in September when we were on week three of studying Othello. I read an Elizabeth Peters murder mystery instead of following along in the play while we watched the movie.”

Amaya rolled her eyes. “Since when does Sara sit next to you anyway?”

“Since yesterday,” Ava replied. 

“And you didn’t tell me?” Amaya demanded. 

“It’s not important. Should I keep you updated on who I sit next to in every class?”

“Depends,” Amaya replied, “do you flirt with all of them?” 

“I wasn’t flirting with her!”

“You apparently teased her about something and you only do that when you like people, be they friends or something more, and she was DEFINITELY flirting with you,” Amaya retorted. 

“She was just messing with me,” Ava contradicted. 

“She called you ‘Sunshine’,” Amaya pointed out. 

Ava groaned. “She’s just teasing me.”

“Well, as she so eloquently pointed out as the two of you were passing notes in class while sitting next to each other, ‘teasing is practically flirting, you know.’”

Ava glared at Amaya. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

“You’re not making a big enough deal out of something,” Amaya shot back. 

“Can we just drop this? Didn’t you have physics homework you were having trouble with?” 

Ava breathed a sigh of relief when Amaya relented and resumed turning pages in the notebook.

Ava looked around the cafeteria as she finished her lunch, and caught sight of Sara a few tables away, surrounded by her usual pack of friends and the stragglers who wanted to be included. Ava realized that she’d never seen Sara be mean to any of them or even actively exclude any of them.  

Zari sat on Sara’s left. She had lost her brother last year to an IED in Afghanistan, Ava knew, which had kind of catapulted her into (Ava always suspected) an unwelcome sort of high school stardom. She shared some honors classes with Amaya, so Ava knew she had a brain, and from everything Ava had seen she was regularly sarcastic. She could see that being a good fit for a friend of Sara’s.

On Sara’s left was Jax, football and track star, and general nice guy by all accounts. Ava knew who he was, as it was impossible not to, but she’d never bothered with him really.

She watched them for a few minutes before Sara looked her way and caught her eye.

Sara smirked smugly and waved in a subtle kind of way. 

Ava looked away quickly, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. A few minutes later her phone vibrated. 

_ Watcha looking at, Sunshine? _

Damn she was infuriating. So cocky. So sure that Ava had to be looking at her because she was interested in her. She decided not to text back. It would only encourage her. 

A moment later her phone buzzed again.

_ Your place or mine for our date tomorrow? ;) _

Not a date, she thought, but refrained from typing it. Again, it would only encourage her.

_ Library? _

_ I got quite a few glares from the librarian on Sunday. Don’t think I’m very good at keeping my voice down. _

Ava had noticed that. 

She debated for a minute and finally texted,  _ Mine. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guinevere tries to cause trouble, Zari and Jax join the mix, some playful teasing happens, Ava definitely is not starting to have a crush, not one bit, and Sara gets an unexpected offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter I originally had split into two, but they were short, and you've all been so kind that I figured I'd give you one slightly longer chapter instead. Thank you so much for all of the feedback. It's been so much more than I've expected, and it's so nice to hear that this story is enjoyable to people! 
> 
> Also, is anyone else as excited as I am that Jes Macallan is being bumped to series regular for season 4? Bring on the Avalance!

By the end of class on Wednesday, Ava had almost gotten used to Sara sitting next to her. She’d learned to ignore Guinevere’s glares, too. It helped to think of her as a petulant child, sulking because she didn’t get her way.

She was really doing fine until Sara leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. “I might’ve made you an enemy for life. Sorry about that.”

Sara’s breath fell hot against her cheek and her hair fell forward and tickled her face.

Ava froze. She might not have been interested in Sara romantically, but she was human and Sara really was incredibly attractive. She swallowed hard and tried to regain her composure. “It’s fine. Whatever. It’s not like Guinevere and I were ever going to be friends. I don’t even know how she made it into honors physics.”

“My guess is she manipulates people into doing her homework for her, but don’t quote me on that one,” Sara replied, still uncomfortably close.

Ava tried to breathe shallower so that she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed with how good Sara smelled.

“You feel okay?” Sara asked, a knowing look on her face. “You look a little flushed.”

“I’m fine,” Ava replied quickly, moving a little further away in what she hoped was a subtle manner.

Sara put her hand on Ava’s forehead. “You better not be getting sick on me,” she teased. “I can’t do this project without you.”

Ava moved her head out of reach and rolled her eyes. “I’m not.”

“Good. Because I could do the project without you, but why would I want to?” Sara whispered with a wink.

Why was she like this? Why was everything an opportunity to flirt?

Not that it was real flirting. But it made it seem like Sara didn’t take anything seriously despite evidence to the contrary.

The bell rang for the end of class and Mr. Stein beckoned her and Sara to his desk. “Nice work, girls. I’m very impressed. You two make a good team, it seems.”

“With a brain like hers, it’d be hard to go wrong,” Sara said, throwing her arm around Ava and shooting Mr. Stein a grin.

Ava stiffened at the unexpected touch. She was suddenly having trouble breathing.

“I’m glad it’s working out so well,” replied Mr. Stein with an oblivious smile. “Let me know when you want to borrow the equipment.”

“Will do!” Sara replied, taking the papers back from him. “See you, Mr. Stein!”

Arm still around Ava, she steered her out of the classroom. “Did you forget how to speak?” Sara asked once they were in the hall. She finally dropped her arm back her side.

“No,” Ava replied. “You just had it handled.”

Sara smirked. “Yep. Handled.”

Ava narrowed her eyes. There was something in the way Sara had said that that made her think she meant something else by it.

“What?” Ava demanded.

“Nothing!” Sara replied, looking innocent. “Gotta run. See you around, Sunshine.”

Ava rolled her eyes and was about to wander off to find Amaya, when a cold voice behind her stopped her in her tracks.

“You know she’s just using you for a good grade, right?”

Ava sighed and turned to face Guinevere.

“She’s not actually in to you. As if. Can you imagine someone like her and someone like you?” Guinevere let out a cruel bark of laughter.

Ava wanted to say, “Yes, I can, better than someone like you and someone like her.”  She didn’t. She’d been raised better. She also wanted to say that using her for a grade was the type of move Guinevere would pull. It was something that had happened to Ava before. She knew how to spot it. Generally people like that didn’t actually attempt to do any work themselves. Sara wasn’t doing that. Of that she was certain.

Instead of that or the numerous other things that Ava WANTED to say, she took a page out of Sara’s book and tilted her head to the side a little and smirked.

“What?” Guinevere demanded, looking annoyed.

Ava just shook her head.

“What??” Guinevere asked again, running a self-conscious hand through her hair.

“See you tomorrow, Guinevere,” Ava said and simply walked away.

“Whatever!” Guinevere called lamely after her, but Ava didn’t bother turning around. Some people clearly couldn’t handle the world not revolving around them.

  
  


“Did you hear? You and I are apparently sluts,” Sara informed her throwing an arm around her as she sat down beside her at lunch. “Hey, Amaya,” she added, leaning forward to look around Ava.

“Hey,” Amaya replied, looking from Sara to Ava, to the arm around Ava’s back.

Ava did her best to ignore both Amaya’s look and Sara’s arm.

“Excuse me?” she demanded.

“I was informed this morning about a rumor was started last night. Rumor has it that you slept with me on the first date.”

“What date??” Ava demanded, her face growing hot.

“The one I don’t remember, clearly, because I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered sleeping with you. I feel like it might have been memorable.”

Amaya snorted beside her and Ava elbowed her in the side.

“Nobody really believes this, do they?”

“Well, I’ve heard several defenses of you. Nobody much believes that you’re very slutty. I apparently could touch up my reputation a bit,” Sara replied.

“But you’re not! You just flirt! It’s not like you hop into bed with everyone you flirt with!” Ava argued.

Sara sat back a little and looked at her with a smile that Ava couldn’t place. “Thank you.”

“Any idea where this rumor came from?” asked Amaya.

“One,” Sara replied, nodding across the cafeteria.

Ava and Amaya followed her gaze to find Guinevere whispering to someone and glancing in their direction.

“She tried asking me out yesterday and when I informed her that I didn’t date straight girls for status and wouldn’t date her even if I did, she didn’t take it well,” Sara informed them.

“She didn’t take it very well when I ignored her accusation that you were only flirting with me to get a good grade, either.”

“She said what?” Sara demanded, getting to her feet. She looked ready to march over there and fight Guinevere.

“It’s not a big deal,” Ava said, tugging at Sara’s hand until she sat down.

“It IS a big deal! For starters, it’s the first time you’ve admitted that I flirt with you,” Sara said.

Amaya smirked and Ava elbowed her again. “I’ve admitted it. You love to annoy me. I’m sure we’ve covered that before.”

Ava was aware of Amaya rolling her eyes, but she hoped that Sara wasn’t.

Before any of them could say anything else, Zari and Jax sat down across the table from them.

“Is this where the cool kids are sitting now?” Jax asked with a grin.

“Nope. The sluts, apparently.”

Jax laughed. “Oh please, nobody really believes that girl.”

“I’m surprised anybody talks to her,” Zari added. “Her voice is so grating.” She shuddered. “Hey Amaya,” she added with a nod across the table.

“Hi, Zari,” Amaya replied.

“You two know each other?” Sara asked sounding surprised.

“We’ve got a few classes together,” Zari informed her.

“Well, I suddenly feel like the odd man out. Sorry I can’t cut the honors classes.”

“You could if you applied yourself,” Sara countered.

Jax shrugged and smiled. “Hi, I’m Jax. Amaya, I’ve seen you at a few of my games, right?” He asked, extending his hand across the table.

“Yeah, and I know who you are. I think everyone at school knows who you are.”

Ava nodded her agreement.

“It’s just cause of the football thing,” Jax replied, shrugging it off. “Everyone knows you, too, Ava.”

“After the morning’s rumours? Oh joy.”

“Nah, man. Everyone knows you’re gonna be valedictorian of our class.”

“Her or Ray,” Zari countered. “Besides, Sara’s mentioned you once or twice.” Zari smirked at Sara, leaving Ava curious as to what exactly Sara might have said about her.

“Aaaanyway,” Sara said, turning to face Ava. “Sorry Guinevere’s a vindictive liar who dragged you in to her annoyance with me.”

Ava shrugged. “I never thought I’d have a reputation as a slut since I’ve never dated anyone from school.”

“Yeah I didn’t even know you were gay,” Jax said, prompting Sara to reach across the table and smack him upside the head.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“It’s fine,” Ava said. “I wasn’t really in the closet, it just never really came up with most people.”

“That’s cool. I have no problem with gay people!”Jax declared.

“If you follow that up with ‘some of my best friends are gay people’ I will smack you harder,” Sara threatened.

“Oh, God. I might too,” Zari agreed.

“Well you’re bi and you’re my best friend,” Jax replied defensively.

Ava couldn’t help but laugh which made all eyes return to her. Sara smiled at her, a glint in her eyes that Ava couldn’t place.

“What?” Ava asked.

Sara shook her head. “Nothing.”

“She likes to see you laugh, idiot,” Amaya muttered into her ear.

Ava rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“She’s right,” Zari said, apparently having overheard Amaya. “Sara always likes to see a pretty girl laugh. Bonus if she’s the one who made her laugh.”

Ava knew she was blushing. She told her face to stop, but based on how hot it felt, it wasn’t listening. If Zari was right, Sara really did think she was pretty. It wasn’t all just an act to get a reaction out of her. Unless Zari was in on it, but she didn’t seem the type. She struck Ava as the type to tell it straight.

Ava glanced at Sara who was suddenly studiously examining her lunch.

“So what’s with the sunshine thing?” Amaya asked.

Ava shot her a glare. Why oh why had Amaya had to see that in her notes?

“Sunshine thing?” Zari inquired.

“Sara calls Ava that. Or did in the notes they were passing in physics,” Amaya explained.

Ava wished that she was anywhere else. “I swear I wasn’t showing them to her. She was supposed to be looking at my notes on physics.”

Sara raised an eyebrow at her but looked more amused than upset.

Of course, Ava told herself. It wasn’t like there was anything revealing or something in those notes.

“Sunshine, huh?” Zari asked, turning to Sara with a smirk.

Sara shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

Except Ava knew she was many things, but very rarely full of sunshine. It wasn’t like she was dark and brooding, but she wasn’t bubbly either.

Zari and Amaya exchanged a look. Jax didn’t look convinced either.

“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t,” Ava said.

Sara rolled her eyes.

“Must be because you light up her life,” Zari said in a mocking voice.

Sara threw a french fry at her.

“So, do you want to just take me home with you today? Or do you want to text me your address? How’re we gonna work this study date today?”

Ava knew exactly how that sounded and exactly how Amaya was going to take it, but SHE knew Sara was just teasing.

“Well, apparently I have a reputation to live up to now. I should probably just take you home with me.”

Sara’s mouth hung open for a moment and then she grinned and a small laugh escaped her lips. Ava had to smile back, feeling just the tiniest bit pleased with herself.

“Probably,” Sara agreed. “I mean I have a reputation to live up to too.”

“You know she walks to school, right?” Amaya commented.

“Nothing like a nice stroll with the girl you’re sleeping with,” Sara replied.

Ava really wished that she had not chosen that moment to take a gulp of her water. Choking was not a good look for her. Sara’s warm hand first patting her back, then rubbing it gently didn’t help.

“You know, supposedly,” Sara added when Ava could finally breathe again.

“Right,” she croaked weakly.

She was aware of Amaya and Zari exchanging another look. She did not like the smugness in that look.

Conversation fortunately turned away from rumors and from Ava and Sara in general after that, and Ava was able to actually eat her lunch (except for the apple slice that Sara stole off her tray).

“You have your own,” she said, smacking Sara’s hand away when she reached for a second.

“They’re all gone and Jax stole half,” she complained.

“Hey, I need the energy for practice later,” he said defensively.

“That’s always your excuse,” Sara shot back.

“It’s always true,” he replied with a charming grin.

Ava found herself smiling at their exchange. It was almost like a big sister, little brother vibe. Besides, Ava decided that she quite liked Jax. It was he who’d finally changed the topic, after all. He seemed like a generally nice guy.

The fact that he was not sleeping with Sara, nor did he seem interested in doing so, did not factor into her judgment in any way shape or form.

When the warning bell for the end of lunch rang, Ava found herself almost disappointed. Normally she was most at ease in the company of one or two people at a time, but lunch had actually been...fun. Not just a time to get started on the next day’s homework and shove some food in her mouth.

“So, meet you at your locker after school?” Sara said as they stood up in unison.

“Umm, yeah.  Sure.” It seemed surreal somehow. Lunch with Sara and her friends. Sara meeting her at her locker after school to come over to her house. The only thing that would make this weirder is if Sara really meant it when she hit on her and they actually started dating.

Not that Ava would be open to it if Sara was really flirting with her. Obviously she wasn’t interested. Not really. She needed to focus on school.

 

 

Ava tapped her foot and looked around. The halls were clearing slowly but no sign of Sara. Had she really flaked on her? It didn’t seem likely. Not at this point.

Ava leaned against her locker and crossed her arms. She tried not to be too annoyed.   
Five minutes later and it hadn’t worked. She was very annoyed. She checked her phone to make sure that Sara hadn’t texted. No message.   
“Whatever,” she muttered, annoyed at Sara for not showing and annoyed at herself for caring that she hadn’t showed.

She headed towards the exit.

She was halfway across the parking lot before she heard Sara call out to her. She paused for a second then kept walking. If she was just late she could have texted.

“Hey! Wait up!” Sara called, a lot closer this time.

Ava relented and turned, letting her annoyance show on her face.

“Sorry my dad called and he- Well, let’s just say he’s not going in tonight even though he’s scheduled to work, and I’m gonna see if I can crash at Zari’s. I know, I’m so late he just called right at the end of class and I couldn’t get him off the phone.”

Ava felt a little bad that she’d been so annoyed. And it was hard to text if you were already in the phone. “Oh. It’s okay. I just thought-“

“That I’d bailed? Yeah. I gathered. Would I bail on my rumored girlfriend? I couldn’t do that to you,” Sara said with a wink.

Ava had almost forgotten about the rumor in her annoyance. The reminder made her blush. “Right, well, okay, my house is this way.” Ava nodded in the right direction and started walking, slower than her initial pace.

Sara easily fell into step beside her.

Ava found herself wanting to ask about Sara’s dad. She had an idea of what might be going on with him, but wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to pry, though, and Sara had offered up very little about the situation which made Ava feel like it was off-limits. Sometimes she wished she could just get like a dossier on people she was interested in. Or curious about. Curious about was a much more accurate description of her feelings.

“What’s on your mind, Sunshine?” Sara asked after a few minutes.

“What do you mean?”

“You had this look. Like you wanted to say something but were stopping yourself,” Sara informed her.

Ava scrambled to come up with something to say that wasn’t horribly invasive. “What’s with the sunshine thing? You never really answered earlier.”

Sara chuckled. “That wasn’t it.”

“What?”

“That wasn’t what you weren’t saying,” Sara said. “But, fine, since you asked: didn’t you hear what Zari said? You light up my life.”

Ava laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’re funny. But I’m serious. Why do you call me sunshine?”

Sara stopped walking and it took Ava a second to notice, but then she stopped and turned to face her. Sara was studying her with a curious look on her face.

She smiled, then shook her head. “It’s just a nickname. Plus you get this cute little blush when I say it, so that was an unexpected bonus that made it stick.”

“I do not!”

“You’re getting it now,” Sara teased, reaching out and brushing a finger against Ava’s cheek.

Ava’s breath hitched and, much to her annoyance, she could feel her cheeks growing hot. “You’re insufferable,” Ava grumbled, turning back around and heading towards home just a little bit quicker than she had been.

“I try,” Sara called after her, before jogging to catch up.

“Do you take anything seriously?” Ava asked, still feeling annoyed, though it might have been more at herself than at Sara.

“Hey, I’m here to do the project, aren’t I?”

“But bonus because you get mess with me?” Ava snapped.

“Hey,” Sara stopped again, but this time grabbed Ava’s hand, forcing her to stop and spin around to face her. “If you want me to stop, I’ll stop.”

“What? Helping with the assignment?”

Sara rolled her eyes. “Calling you Sunshine. It didn’t seem like it really bothered you, but if it does...”

Ava thought about Sara never calling her sunshine again. As annoying as it was, that thought made her mildly upset. Suddenly she felt like a jerk for overreacting at Sara.

“Um, no. It’s fine. It doesn’t really bother me that much,” she relented. When she turned and started walking again, it was back to her slower pace.

“Ok,” Sara said, falling back into step beside her.

They’d gone two more blocks before Ava realised they were still holding hands. She coughed uncomfortably, using the fake cough as an excuse to remove her hand.

Sara seemed surprised that they’d still been touching too, Ava thought, when she glanced at her confused expression.

“So, how much further?”

“Legs tired already?” Ava teased.

Sara let out a wry laugh. “Hardly. I’ve got waaay more stamina than that.”

And just like that they were back to jokes and innuendos pulled out of thin air.

Ava laughed. It felt better this way, somehow. “Of course you do. It’s not far.”

  
  


“So this is chez Sharpe, huh?”

Ava nodded sheepishly. She wished her parents had less of her childhood photos on the wall.

“It’s nice,” Sara commented.  She moved slowly into the house, eyes scanning everything. She paused at a picture of Ava around age seven. “So you do occasionally have your hair out of that bun!”

Ava touched her bun self-consciously. “Of course. It’s not like I sleep in it, for starters. It’s just an effective way of keeping it out of my face at school.”

Sara looked back at the picture, then at the one beside it. “You were adorable.”

“Okay so how about we work in the kitchen where there are considerably fewer pictures of me?” Ava suggested.

Sara laughed. “Spoil sport. Okay. Lead the way.”

Ava led Sara into the kitchen and started to get out her notebook at their breakfast nook. Sara scooted onto the bench beside her and opened up her backpack.

“It’s nice, you know.”

“What?” Ava asked.

“The pictures and stuff. Having your memories around you, not just in your head.”

Ava shot Sara a quizzical look. She seemed lost in her own thoughts for a moment, then shook her head and refocused on Ava.

Sara shrugged. “Just my dad hasn’t really done much decorating since we moved. No photos or, like, _anything_ on the wall.” Sara shrugged again. “So physics...”

Ava wanted to ask why Sara hadn’t just decorated herself, but it seemed clear that she had no interest in continuing the conversation. “Physics,” she agreed.

  
  


“Damn,” Sara said, coming back into the kitchen.

They’d finished their work and Sara had stepped into the living room to call Zari.

“What’s wrong?” Ava asked.

“Zari’s got family coming into town so I can’t stay there.”

“What about Jax?” Ava asked, avoiding the question she really wanted to ask: why couldn’t she just stay at home?

Sara shook her head. “He’s got a track meet tomorrow so he’s got this big ritual and I can’t deal with that stuff tonight.”

“Why don’t you stay here?”

The words were out of Ava’s mouth before she had stopped to think about it.

She hadn’t asked her parents or anything. And...oh god! Sara would meet her parents. Her mom would get that sickly sweet smile and study every interaction to see if Sara was “THAT type of a friend” and her dad would tell embarrassing stories and what the hell was wrong with her? This was the worst idea that she’d ever had! This wasn’t her. She didn’t do things on impulse. She thought them through and weighed the pros and cons before acting. She made lists. She didn’t blurt.

“You don’t have to offer me a place to sleep just because the school thinks we’re sleeping together, Ava.”

Ava, not sunshine, Ava noticed. She frowned.

“It’s cool. It’s starting to warm up outside. There’s an abandoned clock tower on the other side of town. I’ve crashed there before, but it was freezing. Should be better tonight.”

Ava’s jaw hung open. Who would risk freezing rather than go home?

“No! Stay. It’s fine!”

If Sara’s choice was an abandoned clock tower or meeting her parents, then it was a no-brainer.

Sara still didn’t look convinced.

“I WANT you to stay even. Imagine that.” It wasn’t really a lie, Ava was surprised to realize.

“You’re a dork,” Sara said, but it was in an affectionate tone.

“I’m a nerd, thank you very much.”

“You sure you don’t mind me crashing here? I’m good with a floor. I don’t need a bed.”

“We’ve got a guest room. And yes, I’m sure. Though I warn you now: my dad’s jokes are super corny and he thinks they’re hilarious. And my mom will probably ask if we’re dating.”

“What should I say?” Sara asked, wiggling her eyebrows at her.

“No!” Ava exclaimed. “I mean, we’re not, so truth is good,” she added quickly.

Sara raised an eyebrow at her, but then her expression turned serious. “Hey, thanks. I know-“ she hesitated then started again. “My dad -“

“You don’t have to tell me,” Ava cut her off.

“He drinks. Not like in an abusive way. Well, his liver probably finds it pretty abusive, but he just...gets weepy and I just can’t take it when he’s like that, so...”

“It’s fine. I kind of guessed about the drinking.”

Sara nodded.

“Is that why he and your mom split?” Ava asked, pushing her luck while Sara was sharing.

Sara shook her head. “Not exactly. It didn’t help. It’s complicated.”

Ava took that as the end of the conversation.

“So, since you’re staying...snack?” Ava asked, changing the subject.

“I knew I liked you,” Sara replied with a grin.

Ava told herself her heart didn’t skip a beat at those words.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara meets Ava's parents. Ava tries not to die of embarrassment. Sara makes no attempts not to flirt with Ava. Ava makes several attempts to deny her developing feelings for Sara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to get up the computer to pay some bills, so figured I'd sneak in posting another chapter. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for all your feedback! It feels so good to know that this story is making people happy!

Dinner went...just about as expected, really. Her mom had a smile plastered on her face, but Ava could tell she was studying every interaction between her and Sara. Her dad had made some lame joke about “lance a lot, Lancelot” and had asked Sara more than once if she was really from Camelot. 

Sara, to her credit, had laughed every time, and it hadn’t even sounded forced.

“You know, when Ava was little, she used to pretend she was King Arthur.”

“Dad!” Ava said warningly, hoping to derail his story. 

Her dad waved away her complaint and continued, while Sara leaned in eager to hear more. Ava slunk down in her chair. 

“And she’d set up her stuffed animals around her little table and bark orders at them like they were the knights of the round table. Then she’d set off on quests around the yard, rescuing damsels in distress and the like. It was adorable.”

Sara raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. “Sounds it.”

“It probably should have been our first hint,” her mother commented. 

“Mom!” Ava exclaimed. They didn’t know that Sara knew she was gay. Seriously, where was the tact?

“Well, I was never one for playing the damsel in distress either,” Sara said. “So, I get it.”

“Oh, so you are...?” Ava’s mom started, then couldn’t find the words to continue. 

“Mom!” Ava glared daggers at her mother and felt a blush heating up her cheeks. 

“What?”

“You can’t just ask people if they’re gay!”

“Okay, I’m sorry. You’re right. None of my business. I’m sorry, Sara. I was out of line.”

Ava put her head in her hands and prayed that Sara would finish eating soon so they could escape the table and her parents’ company.

“No need. I do actually like the company of the ladies,” Sara confirmed. “And guys on occasion.” 

“Oh!” Ava’s mom exclaimed. 

“Can’t pick just one, huh?” Ava’s Dad said with a nudge and a wink. 

Sara laughed. “Something like that.”

Ava considered that she might have been sucked into some hell dimension and was currently stuck in her own personal hell and this meal would never actually end. 

“Sara, do you want to-“ Ava prompted, glancing pointedly at Sara’s plate. 

“Mm, right. The company is so good, I’m almost forgetting to enjoy the delicious food.”

Suck up, Ava thought, but her mom sat back and smiled a more genuine smile. 

“How sweet of you to say. Thank you, dear. Well, Ava will have to have you over again soon.”

“That’s incredibly kind of you, Mrs. Sharpe. I’d like that.”

Ava narrowed her eyes at Sara. Was that sucking up or was that genuine? It had to be more sucking up, right? Ava had to admit that Sara was handling her parents pretty well.

  
  
  


She breathed a sigh of relief as Sara finally finished the food on her plate, and without waiting to ask if they could be excused, Ava hopped out of her seat, grabbed Sara’s hand and dragged her out of the kitchen, a “thanks for dinner,” called over her shoulder. 

“Yes, thank you!” Sara called as well.

“Rude much?” Sara teased as Ava dragged her through the living room and towards the stairs. 

No way was Ava leaving more opportunities for her parents and Sara to interact. She didn’t want her dad to decide to pull out the photo albums.

The last thing she needed was Sara being shown the pictures of her with the metal colander on her head, stick and piece of cardboard in hand, both wrapped in tin foil to act as sword and shield.

Or worse: the dreaded bath photos.

“Are you taking me to your bedroom?” Sara asked, sounding scandalized. 

Ava rolled her eyes. 

“Why, Miss Sharpe! What will people think??”

“Probably what they already do,” Ava pointed out, although she felt suddenly nervous about taking Sara to her bedroom and slowed her step a little. She tried to remember if she’d managed to get all of her dirty clothes into the hamper that morning.

“You know, I feel like I’ve been a bad influence on you, Sunshine.”

“Oh? Why?” Ava asked tugging Sara onto the landing and heading down the hall. 

“Practically dragging me to your bedroom on only our second date?”

“Still not a date,” she argued, though she self-consciously dropped Sara’s hand. 

She came to a stop outside her door and hesitated. 

“Night’s not over yet,” Sara murmured in her ear.

Despite the warmth radiating off of Sara’s body, Ava felt a shiver run through her. 

Dammit, that was not helpful. 

“Aren’t you gonna invite me in?” Sara asked, a devilish twinkle in her eye. 

Ava pushed open the door to her room and gestured for Sara to go ahead. 

“Don’t make fun.”

“I would never!” Sara replied. “Of what, specifically though?”

Ava narrowed her eyes at Sara and pushed past her towards her bed. She plopped down unceremoniously, and only then thought about how Sara might take her sitting on her bed as an invitation to...well, to be honest, Ava wasn’t sure what she might take it as an invitation to do, and she found it best not to speculate with Sara so close.

To her surprise, Sara lingered on the outskirts of her room, eyes sweeping over everything, taking it in. She made her way slowly past Ava’s desk, fingers trailing over the neatly organized, color-coded folders. 

“You’re right. You are a nerd,” she commented, flashing a grin. 

“Shut up,” Ava murmured self-consciously. 

“No, it’s cute,” Sara assured her.

Ava rolled her eyes. 

Sara came to her bookshelf next and perused the titles. Every once in a while she’d make an approving noise or comment. 

“You’ve got good taste,” she finally said. 

Ava felt like she was being studied and judged. She squirmed uncomfortably on her bed. 

Sara crossed to her dresser and started looking at the pictures she had stuck in the mirror and posted to the wall beside it. 

“Is that you and Amaya?” Sara asked. 

Ava looked up to see which picture Sara was indicating and nodded her confirmation. “Yeah we were like four. Our families go on vacation together every year to this cabin by the beach, but that was the first ever trip,” Ava explained. 

“That’s very...domestic.”

Ava shrugged. “Our parents have been friends a long time. My mom and her mom did Lamaze class together.”

“Okay, no, THAT is domestic.” Sara shot her teasing grin.

Sara’s eyes studied more of the photos and Ava remembered a second too late what other picture of her and Ava at that beach was on the wall. 

“Wow!” Sara exclaimed plucking the picture off the wall and holding it up to take a better look. “I...wow!”

Sara’s eyes darted between the picture and Ava. “This was not taken when you were four.”

“No,” Ava confirmed. “That was last summer.”

Sara looked at the picture again, squinting at it this time. 

Ava got up and moved to snatch the picture away from Sara, but Sara dodged her. 

“Amaya’s really hot,” she commented. 

Ava grabbed for the picture again and got it, glaring hard at Sara who was smirking. 

“Maybe you can stay at her house, then?” Ava suggested, putting the picture in her desk drawer instead of back on her wall. 

“Hey, come on. I was joking,” Sara said. 

Ava didn’t know why she felt so annoyed at Sara over that comment, but she knew exactly why she didn’t believe Sara’s claim that she was joking. Amaya might have been her best friend, and she had no romantic feelings towards her whatsoever, but she wasn’t blind. She shot Sara a skeptical glare.

Sara came over to her and took her hand, turning Ava toward her. 

“Okay, I wasn’t joking, but she was NOT the one I was checking out.”

Ava looked down at their intertwined hands. Suddenly the moment felt far too intimate.

Sara had supposedly been checking her out. Okay, in a picture, but the thought still sounded weird in her head. 

“Yeah, right,” she mumbled. 

“You have been holding out on me,” Sara accused, tugging Ava closer. 

“I have?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re hot in those buttoned-down shirts you wear all the time, but that bikini...” Sara bit her lower lip. 

She was teasing her again. Of course, she was. Ava pulled her hand away and moved back to her bed, feeling her face flush. She knew she was probably bright red. “Very funny,” she commented dryly, trying desperately to regain her composure and get her heart rate back under control.

“You don’t take me very seriously, do you?” Sara asked, coming to sit beside Ava. 

“You seem to take great joy in teasing me regularly,” Ava accused in lieu of a proper reply. 

Sara leaned back, propping herself up with her hands stretched out behind her on the bed. She tilted her head to the side and studied Ava for a long moment.

“Would it make your head explode if I told you I meant every complimentary thing I’ve said to you?” 

Ava rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure.” 

Sara studied her a moment longer, then sat up straight again. “Do you have anything I can borrow to sleep in?”

Ava felt mostly relieved in the change of subject, but there was a small part of her that was a little disappointed. 

You are not allowed to actually get a crush on Sara Lance, she told herself sternly. Aloud she said, “Oh, yeah. Sure. Let me find you something.”

  
  
  


“What do you want to do after this?”

Ava frowned at the question. After what? She turned her head to the side to look at Sara. 

Sara Lance. 

Sara who was lying in her bed. Sara whose head on her other pillow. Sara who was lying beside her looking at the ceiling. 

It was fine. It was totally normal. Totally cool.

“Go to sleep?” she suggested when she realized she’d taken too long to answer because Sara had turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. 

Sara let out a low chuckle and turned her attention back to the ceiling. 

“After high school, I mean.”

“Oh. Either law enforcement, like one of the federal agencies, not just local, or going into law itself, but so I can work for advocacy groups or a nonprofit or something.”

Sara smiled and turned back to look at her. “So basically you want to save the world.”

“Well, I’d make management level in like five years, I figure, so maybe I want to boss people around, too,” Ava joked and Sara laughed. 

“Yeah, I can see you being good at that,” she said. 

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence, and Ava was about to ask Sara the same question, when she said, “Laurel wanted to be a lawyer. She’d have liked you, I think.” 

Ava frowned. Laurel? Who was Laurel? An ex or something? Only one way to find out. 

“Who’s Laurel?”

Sara’s face fell and her body stiffened. “My sister,” she replied in a strained voice. 

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Ava said softly. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like Sara was one loud noise away from bolting.

“I don’t anymore. She...she died.”

Sara rolled so she was facing away from Ava, and Ava heard a faint sniffle. 

Little pieces of information and offhand comments about her family started to click into place. Her dad dealt by drinking and her mom by pretending everything was fine. Which left Sara to deal by...? Ava didn’t know, but she knew she was dealing with it alone. She watched as Sara’s shoulders began to tremble, unsure of what to say in reply. 

Ava found herself overwhelmed by the urge to hug Sara, and before she could think better of it, she scooted closer to Sara and wrapped her arms around her, holding her close.

Sara tensed, and then relaxed into the touch. Within a few minutes, Sara’s sniffles became further apart. 

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have -“

“Hey,” Ava cut her off. Ava pushed up onto her elbow and brushed Sara’s hair away from her face.

Sara turned to look up at her. 

“No apologies. I’m so sorry, Sara, that must be-“

“Yeah.  Any adjective you were going to say and worse,” Sara confirmed. 

God, had her eyes always been this blue? They were truly stunning. No wonder she had half the student body fawning over her.

And Ava was staring. Again. 

Do not crush on Sara Lance, she told herself. 

Sara’s expression changed from upset to confused to curious and all the while those piercing blue eyes gazed back at Ava. 

Look away, Ava told herself. Her eyes darted to Sara’s lips. Soft, full, inviting lips. 

Ava laid back down on her back quickly and stared at the ceiling. It was plain and white. There was nothing remotely stimulating about it.

Sara rolled over to face her, but said nothing. 

Ava continued to stare at the ceiling. 

“Any chance I can convince you to ditch tomorrow?” Sara asked eventually. 

Ava frowned. She’d never missed school without a good reason. Hell, last year when she’d spiked a fever of 103 because of strep throat on the same day as a geometry test, her mom had practically had to lock her in her room to keep her home. 

“That’s not really something I do.”

“No, I thought not,” Sara said with a sigh.

“Why?” Ava asked a few minutes later, finally rolling to face Sara, too. 

Sara shrugged. “Could be fun.”

“Skipping school?”

“With you,” Sara added. 

Ava furrowed her brows. “Thought I didn’t have a sense of humour.”

“I have learned you’ve got a pretty good one, actually. And that’s just in the still fairly limited time we’ve spent together. Imagine what I could uncover in a whole day!”

Ava laughed. “Here I thought I was the dork.”

Sara let out a small laugh,xq too. “I’m pretty sure you put the cool label on me. Not me.”

“Yeah because gorgeous and smart and always surrounded by people who want to get with you, that doesn’t denote cool at all.”

Sara smirked. “You think I’m gorgeous?” she said teasingly. 

“I don’t- I didn’t mean- I mean-“ Ava stammered, her cheeks growing hot, all the while Sara’s smirk grew. 

Shit. No crush, no crush, no crush, she told herself. It didn’t sound so convincing in her head. 

“You think I’m gorgeous.”

“Whatever. I have eyes. You’re still obnoxious and smug.”

“And smart, apparently,” Sara said, her grin taking over her face. 

“Did I mention insufferable?” Ava asked, feeling her annoyance grow, though at least half of it was aimed at herself. 

“Here I thought I’d been upgraded to tolerable,” Sara teased.

“Depends on the moment,” Ava replied. 

“So when I’m pointing out how gorgeous you think I am...?”

“Insufferable,” Ava confirmed. 

“I like how you didn’t try to deny that you think I’m gorgeous that time.”

Ava blushed even deeper. “I just gave up on having you listen to me,” she tried to defend herself. 

“Mhm. Sure,” Sara said, not sounding remotely as if she believed her.

“Clearly I put in the wrong name on your phone. I should’ve put ‘gorgeous project partner’ not ‘pretty’.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “I dunno. I prefer the alliteration.”

Sara laughed. “You would.”

Sara’s phone vibrated and she rolled to her back, pulled it out and looked at it. She rolled her eyes and typed back a message quickly. 

Ava shot her a questioning look. 

“Zari texted earlier making sure I had found someplace to crash and I’d told her I was staying with you. She was just...her response was stupid.”

“What’d she say?” Ava asked propping herself up on her elbow and leaning towards her curiously. 

“It was nothing important,” Sara said. 

“But it was about me?”

“It more involved you.”

“Don’t I have a right to know, then?”

Sara rolled her eyes. 

“She just suggested I have fun with my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend. One of Sara’s best friends had teased her about Ava being her girlfriend. Not that that meant anything. 

“What’d you say?” 

“I just told her to shut it.”

That response was not helpful. It told Ava nothing. 

“Anyway, it’s getting late. And you’re being a party pooper and saying we have to go to school tomorrow.  We should probably get some sleep.”

Sara made no effort to get up. 

“You can just stay in here if you want,” Ava offered, feeling reluctant for Sara to leave even if she was just going down the hall. 

“As inviting as that sounds,” Sara said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Ava, “I think your mom would suspect things that aren’t happening.”

Sara was right, but Ava couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. 

“Don’t worry though,” Sara said leaning in closer, “I’ll still be here in the morning.” 

Before Ava could react, Sara kissed her on the cheek, then pulled away with a wink. 

Sara climbed out of her bed and headed to the door, pausing to say, “Sweet dreams, Sunshine. Preferably about me.”

With another wink she left, leaving Ava’s face burning.

Well, this might prove to be a problem. Honestly she had one main task for herself to get through this project unscathed besides the actual schoolwork, which wasn’t that hard. All she had to do was not develop a crush on someone who was annoyingly cocky and insufferable. 

And okay, maybe Sara had turned out not to really be either of those things. Not really. 

She had failed. Miserably. 

Ava had a big, fat, stupid crush. 

The only question now was what would she do about it?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava makes an unexpected decision which leads to quality time with Sara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like you guys are going to be rooting for me to unexpectedly have to pay bills all the time, since that's why I'm on my computer again so soon. I'm seriously blown away by your feedback all the time! I'm so honored so many of you take the time to tell me you enjoy this story. It's gonna be a long wait until season 4 (which I'm kinda excited for), but hopefully I can help fill the void with fic!

“Let’s do it,” Ava said as they were finishing breakfast. 

She’d lain awake thinking about it far too late last night and the idea had been ruminating all through breakfast. Now that her parents had left for work, she took a deep breath and had decided. 

Sara raised a curious eyebrow at her.  “That’s a little forward there, Sunshine.”

“What?” Ava’s face scrunched in confusion. Then realization hit. “Is anything ever not an innuendo with you? I meant let’s skip.”

“Less, fun, but equally as surprising. You feeling okay?” Sara put her hand to Ava’s forehead as if she was feeling for a fever. 

Ava ducked out of reach. “I’m fine. I’ve just never taken a personal day and it’s a Friday and there are no tests or big assignments due. It won’t kill me.”

Sara studied her for a minute then cracked a large grin. “You’ve really argued this over with yourself, haven’t you?”

Ava looked sheepish. “Maybe a little.”

Sara tilted her head to the side and looked at her for a moment. “Okay, let’s do it, but there’s one catch.”

Ava frowned and felt anxiety tangle in her stomach. “What?”

“If you’re metaphorically letting your hair down, you need to actually let it down, too.” Sara reached out and ran her fingers through Ava’s hair until they hit her hair tie. “May I?”

Ava swallowed hard and her heart began to race a little faster. She nodded. 

Sara gently tugged her hair tie out and Ava plucked out the bobby pins that had been there for extra stability. She shook her head letting her hair fall loosely around her face and flow down over her shoulders and back. She flipped some it over to the other side to shift her part and then tucked one side behind her ear, looking up shyly at Sara.

Sara’s expression was unreadable as her eyes trailed over Ava, and Ava squirmed self-consciously in her seat. 

She could already feel a blush forming on her cheeks.

“Wow,” Sara breathed. “You look- You look good.”

“Yeah?”

Sara nodded. “Yeah.” She paused for a moment, still looking at Ava, then shook her head and looked back at her empty plate. “So what do you want to do today?” she asked. 

Ava hadn’t really thought that far ahead.

“What were you thinking when you suggested it last night?” Ava asked. 

Sara shrugged. “Spending the day with a pretty girl,” she replied with a wink. “Wasn’t much thought beyond that.” 

Ava blushed again. This blush reflex was becoming and issue.

“Pretty,” she murmured. 

“Hmm?”

“You keep using that word.”

Sara smirked. “Are you starting to believe I mean it?”

Yes. “Maybe in some weird teasing way,” she conceded. 

“Have you looked in a mirror?”

The blush deepened. She definitely needed to learn to control it.

“So anyway, what should we do? I’ve never skipped school before. And, yes, I’m aware of how much of a nerd that makes me.”

“It’s kinda cute, actually,” Sara replied. 

Cute, pretty...could she really...? In a real way? Not just because she was fun to tease? Ava shook her head. 

“So this probably isn’t the coolest thing to do on your first ever day skipping school, but how do you feel about a hike?” Sara asked. 

It was kind of a weird suggestion, but Ava actually liked to take walks. “Sure.”

“Small catch,” Sara said. “We need a car to get to the place I want to take you to hike.”

“My parents took our cars to work.”

“My Dad doesn’t have to work this morning and he’s probably busy sleeping off last night. We could go get his car.”

“So stealing from a cop?” Ava asked. 

“More like borrowing without permission,” Sara replied.

“You might be right about you being a bad influence on me,” Ava informed her. 

Sara grinned and took her hand, pulling her to standing. “Come on. Adventure awaits.”

  
  
  


Sara hesitated at the door to her house and glanced at Ava. “I’ve just got to find the keys if you want to wait out here.”

“Um...yeah, sure,” Ava said, wrapping her coat a little tighter around her. She should probably have dressed warmer for the weather given that they were going hiking. Of course it would be the coldest day all week by a good 15 degrees.

Sara smiled and pushed her door open. 

Ava waited awkwardly outside, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. 

A moment later Sara popped her head back out of the door and gestured for her to come in. 

“My dad’s asleep in his room and you look cold. Come on in.”

Ava entered cautiously, eyes taking in the empty bottle of scotch on its side on the table and the total lack of personal touches in the living room. 

Sara scanned every flat surface in the living room and kitchen before muttering, “Damn,” under her breath. “I’ve got a spare key somewhere in my room. Come on.”

Ava followed her down a short hallway to the first door on the left. Sara reached up to the top of the doorframe, grabbed a small screwdriver, and stuck it in the small hole in the doorknob. Ava heard the lock pop on the other side of the door, and Sara put the screwdriver back above the doorframe. 

Ava raised an eyebrow in curiosity. 

Sara shrugged. “I like my privacy.” She opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing that Ava should go inside. “Ladies first.”

“Why do I feel like I’m not the first girl who you’ve said that to?” Ava asked stepping into the bedroom, her eyes fixed on Sara as she passed her.

Sara smirked. “You’re not wrong, but you’re the first girl here in this room.”

Ava swallowed hard at that information. “Oh,” she murmured, looking away from Sara and letting her eyes roam over the room. 

It was sparsely decorated, but unlike the living room it wasn’t without personal touches. A small bird was painted in black on the wall behind Sara’s bed, and tucked in a corner of her desk was a small framed photograph. Ava moved to take a closer look at it and saw Sara standing next to a slightly taller brunette. They were both laughing, their eyes crinkled in the same way in the corners, the same nose, the same high cheek bones. Ava didn’t have to ask to know it was her sister. 

“Laurel,” Sara said, nodding at the picture. She moved past Ava and went to the desk. She began rummaging through the drawers looking for the keys. 

“She was beautiful,” Ava commented. 

Sara paused and looked at the picture. “Yeah, she was,” she agreed before opening another drawer and digging through it. 

“You look so happy in the picture.”

“I was,” Sara replied, this time without looking up. “Aha!” she declared a moment later, holding up the car keys triumphantly. “Hang on, just let me put on a clean shirt.” She gave herself a sniff and made a face, even though Ava was sure she didn’t smell remotely bad. 

Ava was about to make a move to leave the bedroom and give Sara, some privacy, but, before she could, Sara peeled off her shirt revealing the most toned abs that Ava had ever seen. Ava’s eyes stayed glued to Sara’s body as Sara turned and moved to her dresser. She took in Sara’s muscular back and toned arms. There was no doubt in her mind that this girl worked out. Sara was pulling a clean shirt over her head when she turned back around and Ava found herself staring at Sara’s chest. She was wearing a tasteful black bra that showed off her incredibly nice cleavage. Ava looked away quickly, the blush returning to her cheeks.

When she looked back, Sara was smirking at her.

Rather than step around her towards the door, Sara stepped toward Ava. “Such a shame, the first pretty girl I have in this room and I don’t even get you anywhere near my bed.”

Ava swallowed hard. This crush had gone from nonexistent to having to stop herself from fantasizing about what exactly she and Sara might do on Sara’s bed alarmingly quickly. 

Sara shrugged. “Oh, well.  Maybe next time.” With that, she winked, and headed to the door. 

Ava took a deep breath, then turned and followed her.

In the living room Sara paused. She pulled a scarf off of some hooks by the door and turned to Ava. She grinned and slung it around Ava’s neck, pulling her closer in the process. “Can’t have you freezing on our ditch date,” she explained, wrapping the scarf carefully around Ava. She held onto the ends for a moment when she was done and bit her lower lip. 

Ava’s eyes darted to her lips and she licked her own in response. 

Sara opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. She reached back to the hooks and grabbed a beanie, pulling it over Ava’s head. 

“See? That wouldn’t have worked if your hair was up in a bun,” Sara declared. 

She grabbed a coat for herself off the hooks and opened the door, once again waiting for Ava to go through first.

  
  
  


“Have you hiked here before?” Sara asked, taking large strides up the steep incline with ease. 

Ava followed, appreciating her regular jogs for allowing her to keep up with Sara without getting winded. “No. I’ve never been out this way, actually.”

“Really?” Sara looked at her in surprise. “You should get out more.”

Sara was probably right. She had been so focused for years on school and extracurriculars that would look good on a college application. When she did have free time, she took walks or went jogging, she read, or she practiced taekwondo. Amaya had gotten her into it when they were little and Amaya was just starting on her path to martial arts master. Amaya had switched disciplines and pushed herself hard, but Ava had liked taekwondo and stuck with it.

They were about 20 minutes into their hike and Ava had just about forgotten that she was skipping school, when her phone dinged with a text message from Amaya. 

_ Are you okay??? You’re not at school! _ it read. 

Ava sighed. She should probably have let her know she wasn’t going to be there. 

_ Yeah I’m fine. Just skipping today. Not missing anything important. _ she texted back. 

_ Who are you and what have you done with Ava? _ came Amaya’s reply a minute later. 

Ava didn’t reply. 

Another few minutes of hiking went by and another text came in. 

_ Wait Sara stayed at your place last night?!? Details! Now! _

_ We did homework, ate dinner with my parents, and slept.  _

There was no reason to mention how Ava had realized she’d developed a massive crush on Sara or how Sara had opened up a little about her family, or about hugs or kisses on the cheek or Sara without a shirt on this morning. 

_ WITH EACH OTHER?!?!? _ Amaya replied. 

_ Is she holding you against your will? _ followed before Ava could reply. 

It was annoying to stop every few seconds to read the texts and respond so she decided she’d just reply later when they stopped for a break. 

A few minutes later Sara stopped and pulled out her phone. She laughed. 

“Apparently there’s concern that I’ve kidnapped you,” she informed Ava.

“Wait did Amaya just text you?” Ava asked, unsure when they might have exchanged numbers. 

“No, Zari. Apparently they’re in class together right now.” Sara texted Zari back and put her phone away. 

A moment later she stopped again and pulled it back out. She rolled her eyes and then pulled Ava in next to her, putting her arm around her. “Here, smile,” she instructed. 

“Huh?”

“They want proof of life,” Sara said with a laugh. 

Ava laughed, too, and leaned towards Sara, trying not to think about the warmth that spread through her body at Sara’s touch. 

Sara held her phone out at arm’s length and centered them in the screen. She leaned her head so it was touching Ava’s, smiled wide, and took the picture. Then she took a second. Then she stuck out her tongue. Ava followed suit and Sara took another picture. 

The next thing Ava knew, Sara’s lips were being pressed into her cheek and she was blinking at the phone as Sara took another picture, then pulled away. 

Sara flicked through the photos, pausing on one that Ava was sure was the kiss one. She probably looked like a deer caught in headlights. A small smile curled up the sides of Sara’s mouth.

“That should suffice,” Sara said, texting Zari a picture. 

Ava hoped it wasn’t the kiss one. She could feel how hot her cheeks were and knew she must be blushing profusely.

They climbed a little slower after that, talking more in an easy kind of way. Ava did her best not to jump or blush every time their hands brushed. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed like it was happening with increasing frequency, as if Sara was walking closer and closer to her. 

She was so distracted by the touches and Sara’s closeness that she stopped really taking in the scenery around her. It wasn’t until Sara said, “Here!” that Ava stopped and looked around.

To her left she could see for miles, the whole town and beyond laid out before them. To her right were steeper slopes littered with large boulders, a small waterfall cascading over one, leading to a small, fast-moving stream. It must have been the same slower, wider creek they’d encountered down below.

“Wow,” Ava breathed, momentarily distracted from the beauty that was Sara by the beauty of her surroundings. 

“First time I came up here, that waterfall was frozen into jagged icicles down the rock face on the surface and the stream was frozen over. It was incredible,” Sara informed her.

Ava turned her eyes back to Sara. 

Incredible felt like a good word. It was incredible how quickly her feelings for Sara had developed once she actually started spending time with her and given her a chance. It was incredible that she’d skipped school to spend the day with Sara. It was incredible how different Sara was from what she’d assumed.

Sara sat down with her back against a boulder, looking out over the town and turned to Ava expectantly. 

Ava followed suit, sitting down right next to Sara. What little space was left between them disappeared when Sara shifted slightly. Ava glanced her way to see if it was an intentional shift, but, if it was, Sara showed no signs of it. 

Ava was acutely aware of the warmth of Sara’s side against hers. When Sara moved slightly and her arm muscle flexed, Ava could feel it. 

A shiver ran down her spine. 

“Still cold, huh?” Sara asked. She wiggled out of her jacket, tucked in even tighter next to Ava, and laid her jacket over both of them like a blanket.

“Thanks,” Ava said, not mentioning that her shiver had had little to do with the cold and much more to do with Sara’s presence beside her. 

Sara tucked the coat up under her chin, leaned in to Ava, and grinned at her. “All better?”

Ava didn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply nodded. 

“It looks beautiful from up here, doesn’t it?”

Ava nodded again. 

“It’s hard to imagine anything bad could happen to anyone there when viewed from so far up.”

Ava looked back at Sara, studying her face. Her eyes glowed the brightest of blues, her smooth skin had faint freckles on her cheeks she’d never noticed before, and her lips...

God, how were her lips so inviting? 

Ava tried to focus on what Sara had said, but the bittersweet tone in her voice was what stood out. Ava remembered the picture in Sara’s room: the smiling faces, the carefree posture, the joy evident on her face. 

“What happened to Laurel?” she asked in a quiet voice, unsure if Sara would be upset by the question.

Sara’s expression stayed the same, but she sighed heavily. There was a long silence, and Ava was just starting to think she might not answer, when Sara said, “She was the good one, you know.”

“What?”

“I was always the rebel. Always the trouble maker. It should’ve been me, really. She was at the party to keep an eye on me, and if she had stayed home Darhk’s men would never have been able to grab her.”

Sara paused but Ava didn’t press. She didn’t know who Darhk was or what party, but she could see Sara was carrying guilt about this. Ava had trouble believing that she was remotely to blame, no matter how Sara saw the situation in her mind. 

“Damien Darhk. Mob boss, egomaniac, greedy asshole, and murderer.” Sara’s voice broke as she said the last word. “My Dad was the chief of police and he refused to be bought. He was weeding the corruption out of the department and hurting Darhk’s bottom line. But Darhk isn’t the kind of guy who goes after the person who wronged him directly. He’s the type of sicko who goes after their loved ones. Why kill someone when you can ruin their soul and take away their will to live?”

Ava swallowed hard. She could see tears forming in Sara’s eyes and felt them stinging at her own. She could work out where this was headed, but she let Sara talk. 

“So he came for us, and he got to Laurel first. When my dad found her...he wouldn’t tell me exactly what had happened but the papers printed pictures without permission… They said she bled out slowly. She died alone and in pain and -“

Sara’s voice broke again and she turned her face away, closing her eyes as tears trickled down her cheeks. 

Ava’s mouth felt dry and she wiped away tears of her own. She didn’t know what to say. What could you say to something like that? There were no words. It wasn’t like “I’m sorry” would begin to cover it. Without thinking, Ava wrapped her arms around Sara, holding her tightly. Sara buried her face in the crook of Ava’s neck and Ava felt hot, wet tears hit her shoulder. 

She held Sara even tighter. 

“I’m so, so sorry,” she said, the words feeling inadequate even as they left her mouth.

Sara sniffled and sat up, rubbing her face. Ava reluctantly let her go. 

Sara rubbed angrily at her eyes and when she looked back at Ava the tears had stopped. 

“Sorry,” she murmured. 

“You have nothing to apologize for. I can’t imagine. I mean...I… Shit, I have no idea what I’d do! Like it’s amazing you’re out of bed and functioning!”

Sara let out a small laugh. “Did you, Ava Sharpe, just swear?”

“I’m pretty sure that warranted swearing,” Ava replied. 

Sara smiled at her.

“You’re amazing,” Ava blurted, immediately regretting it. 

Sara’s smile turned into a smirk. “Oh, really?”

“I just mean...you’re here, you’re in school, you’ve become like the most desirable girl in school in a few short months, you’re here actually smiling, and all the while you’ve been dealing with the murder of your sister.”

“Don’t forget my parents’ marriage falling apart, my mom starting dating, and my dad drowning his sorrows with alcohol,” Sara deadpanned, though Ava knew it wasn’t really a joke and there was nothing remotely funny about it.

“So what happened to Darhk? He’s in jail now, right? Or dead?”

Sara’s brows furrowed. “No. Six months of investigating and they couldn’t make anything stick. Everyone was too bought off or too scared. So my dad moved us here. Far, far away. Took the first job he could get with a demotion and massive pay cut, talked my mom into moving too, and here we are, and that asshole is still a free man.”

“What?” Ava was shocked. How could he have murdered the daughter of the chief of police and gotten away with it? How could Sara sleep at night knowing the man who killed her sister was free? How could she sleep knowing he might someday come after her??

“Did you paint the bird on your wall?” She wasn’t sure where the question had come from and she didn’t know why she’d decided to ask it now, but it was out and she couldn’t take it back. 

Sara nodded. “It’s a canary. My dad got me one when I was ten, and Laurel loved it. She’d always say it was half hers and Dad got it for both of us, and she’d feed it special treats and looked up all these facts on canaries that she was always spouting. She was pretty smart. Anyway, canaries make me think of her, so I painted that one above my bed like...I know it’s stupid, but like maybe she’s watching over me.”

“Not stupid. It’s beautiful,” Ava replied, reaching out to tuck Sara’s hair behind her ear to better see her face. 

Her hand froze when she realized exactly what she was doing, and she pulled it back quickly. “Sorry, I, uh...”

Sara was giving her a curious look. “You know only Zari and Jax know about my sister and they don’t know as much as you do. You’re surprisingly easy to talk to.”

“Surprisingly?” Ava asked, not really offended, just curious. 

“Maybe you’re not aware, but your reputation of resident aloof genius at school is a little intimidating. When I first saw you all buttoned-down shirt, tight bun, no-nonsense expression I thought ‘hot and unapproachable’.”

Ava’s jaw fell open. There was no pretence, no wink, no innuendo. It was just a statement. Sara Lance thought she was hot. And...

“Wait, what? Intimidating, aloof genius? Seriously?” Ava laughed and Sara joined in. 

“Seems silly now I know how adorkable you are, King Arthur.”

Ava groaned. “Oh, God, I’m never going to forgive my dad for telling you that!”

“I’m just hoping there are pictures!”

Ava elbowed Sara in the side, and she laughed. 

“Don’t you dare ask to see them!” Ava warned. 

“So there ARE pictures! Excellent. Can’t wait to see them!”

“You are-“

“Insufferable?” Sara suggested, with a grin.

Ava realized she was so close that she could feel Sara’s breath falling hot against her cheek, and she swallowed hard. Sara’s eyes held her gaze, her mouth turned up in a half grin that felt almost like a dare. 

God, she just wanted to kiss her. It would be so easy. Just a few inches and their lips would be touching. 

Ava realised she was leaning in unconsciously. Before she could make a decision one way or the other, Sara turned away and sat up straighter. 

“It’s really cold today. Why is it so cold?”

Ava swallowed her disappointment and looked back at the view. “Because it’s March in New England?”

“Look, where I’m from March is getting warm.”

“Yeah, well, out here it’s not unheard of to get a blizzard in April,” Ava informed her. 

“You’re kidding me!”

“Sadly no,” Ava replied. 

“Want to head back down before we freeze?” Sara suggested. 

“Sure,” Ava agreed. 

Sara stood and put her coat back on then held out a hand to Ava. Ava didn’t need it to stand, but she took it anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava get caught in some bad weather. Ava meets Quentin (sort of). Ava starts to question how much of Sara's flirting is just to rile her up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like you guys are going to get an unrealistic expectation of how often I am going to be able to continue to post. This has been an oddly good week for computer time. I'm still super blown away by the positive response to this fic. Thank you all for taking the time to read this story that I was so hesitant to share. Enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Sidenote: Would anyone be interested in a Nora Darhk-centric fic that I may or may not have started writing already? I would definitely include some avalance.

They took their time heading down the slope. They were about halfway down when dark clouds rolled in overhead. A few minutes later and sleet began to pelt them. 

They looked at each other and started laughing, and they started going faster. 

Sara slipped and caught herself before she fell. Ava almost wiped out on some icy leaves, but grabbed hold of a branch before she hit the ground. An almost trip and another slip later, Sara grabbed her hand and pulled her under a tall pine tree.

“Okay, your weather officially sucks,” Sara informed her, laughing. 

“I know. Sorry.”

The pine tree was thick with needles and wide, and it protected them well from the pelting ice. It was almost like a cozy little hideout. 

Ava looked to Sara, curious what she would decide to do now. 

“How long does a storm like this usually last?”

“Could be a few minutes, could be a while. Depends on the system.”

“It’s cute how you still sound like a nerd when we’re sheltering from ice attacking us from the sky.”

Ava blushed.

“You know, it’s not fair. You got told plenty of embarrassing stories about me, and here I know none about you.”

“Hmmm...you know, I’m good with that imbalance,” Sara replied with a wink. 

“Thanks, jerk,” Ava replied playfully and Sara laughed. 

Sara pulled her coat closer around her and Ava couldn’t blame her. With the sleet, the temperature was dropping fast. 

“Maybe we should huddle together for warmth?” Ava suggested. 

“Why, Ava Sharpe, are you hitting on me?” Sara teased. 

Maybe it was because Ava was already feeling a little reckless because of ditching school, or maybe she felt emboldened because she was finally starting to believe that Sara found her attractive, but instead of saying, “No,” or trying to deny it, she said, “Maybe I am!”, then she winked at Sara.

Sara looked surprised, and Ava couldn’t help but feel a little triumphant at having surprised Sara by flirting. Sara had been throwing her off balance with innuendos and flirtations since they’d been paired together for their project and now, finally, the balance had shifted. 

“No comeback?”

“I like the confidence. It’s sexy,” Sara replied. 

And just like that the balance shifted back. Cute? Okay. Hot? Maybe. Sexy? That wasn’t something she was accustomed to being accused of.

“So, are you going to come close enough that we can huddle together for warmth? Or were you just teasing me?” Sara asked, a sly grin on her face. 

Ava knew she was blushing, but moved closer to Sara anyway. “Well, since it’s for warmth...” she said. 

They settled in against the tree, and Sara once again draped her coat over them both, but this time Ava followed suit. 

“Cozy,” Sara commented, snuggling into Ava’s side. 

Ava swallowed hard. Sara had to have realized the effect she was having on her by now. Maybe Sara did find her attractive, but if she was actually as interested in her as all the flirting indicated, she would have made a move. 

She felt Sara shiver beside her and slipped her arm around her.

“How are you suddenly warmer than me?” Sara asked. 

Ava knew it was that just having Sara so close was raising her body temperature, but there was no way she was going to admit that. Instead she shrugged and said, “I’m more used to the cold than you?”

Sara weighed that response, tilting her head from side to side as she did so. “I suppose.”

They huddled in silence for a few minutes, watching the sleet bounce off the ground, some of it bouncing towards them, but none reaching them. There was a soft roar that the pine needles above and around them muted somewhat. Sara was right. It was kind of cozy. 

“So is this how you spend all of your ditch days?” Ava asked. 

“Well, I’ve certainly spent one with a pretty girl before, though I’m not sure any of them had your brains.”

Ava tried not to blush. It didn’t work. Neither did trying not to feel jealous. 

“And I’ve been known to go for a hike, though usually the weather is nicer, but overall, no.”

Ava nodded. “Okay.”

“Today’s special,” Sara said. 

When Ava looked at her she was watching her and smiling. 

“Yeah, well, we’re already on, what...our third date now? At least according to rumors.”

Sara laughed. “I don’t know. Did our second date technically end if we haven’t left each others’ company?”

“Well we didn’t sleep in the same room,” Ava pointed out. 

“Ah, but if we’re going by rumors, then we’ve been sleeping together since date one and we’d certainly have slept together last night.”

Ava tried desperately not to think about sleeping with Sara. She tried desperately not to remember just how amazing Sara’s body was when she’d seen it without a shirt earlier. She really, REALLY tried not to imagine how soft and smooth her skin would feel beneath her finger tips or how firm her muscles must be. 

The only thing she succeeded in doing was turning bright red and growing even warmer. 

“Right, yeah,” she murmured. “Second date still, then, I guess.”

“You really do warm up well under these coats.”

She knew. She had to know. She was just teasing her. Again. 

Ava didn’t reply.

“You know, if I dropped you at home this afternoon, say as if you were coming home from school, and then I picked you up and took you out to dinner, that would be our theoretical third date.”

Ava hesitated. It almost sounded like Sara was asking her out on a real date. Except there was no way that someone as good at flirting and as cool as Sara could be that adorably awkward at asking a girl out. Right? It was one of the most convoluted sentences Ava had ever heard. 

“What?”

“Dinner. Tonight. You and me-“

“On our imaginary third date, yeah, I heard, but it’s Friday night. Don’t you have an actual date to go on? Or plans with Jax and Zari? Or one of your other friends?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” 

“What? No. I just… You really want to spend your Friday night with me?”

“It is kind of why I asked,” Sara confirmed in a tone of voice that had the “duh” implied.

Ava’s heart was racing and her palms felt clammy despite the cold. It wasn’t a date though. Was it? Not a real one. She hadn’t contradicted her when she’d implied it wouldn’t be. But she still wanted to spend her Friday night with Ava? 

“So what do I need to do to get an answer, here?” Sara asked in a joking tone of voice. 

“Um...yeah. Okay. Dinner. Sure.”

“Hey, look, it’s letting up,” Sara said. 

Ava had been so wrapped up in Sara and her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed. 

“That wasn’t so bad,” Sara commented. “Especially not with such good company,” she added, giving Ava a little poke in the side. 

Ava squealed in a wholly undignified way, and Sara looked delighted. 

“Are you ticklish?”

“No,” Ava lied. 

Sara poked Ava again, and Ava tried not to react, she really did, but her body squirmed involuntarily. 

“Liar,” Sara accused, still grinning. “Are you ticklish everywhere? Or just your sides?” Sara’s fingers trailed down Ava’s side towards her hip and Ava yelped again, jumping away this time. 

The way that Sara had said the word “everywhere” somehow sounded so suggestive, that Ava’s face was practically burning it felt so hot.

“Okay, okay, sorry. Clearly you’re like super ticklish, so I’ll try to restrain myself,” Sara said. 

“Thank you,” Ava said, reaching for her coat. 

Sara took hers and they both got to their feet.

Ava felt instantly colder despite having her coat back on, and maybe Sara did too because she linked arms with Ava and pulled her in close. 

Ava felt Sarah’s fingers pinch her side and she jerked away with a high-pitched squeal. 

“Okay, I’m sorry. That was the last one. I didn’t even think it would work through the coat.”

Sara didn’t look sorry as she offered her arm to Ava again. 

Ava moved closer warily. 

“I promise it won’t happen again,” Sara said. “Today, anyway,” she added after Ava took her arm. 

“Jerk,” Ava muttered with a smile, bumping Sara with her side. 

Sara blew her a kiss and they headed carefully back out from under the pine tree, back towards the car over the icy terrain. 

  
  
  


“Hot chocolate, for the lovely lady,” Sara said setting the cup down in front of Ava. 

Ava blushed. Again. “Thanks.”

“You know, we should probably have gone somewhere that serves more than tiny pastries,” Sara mused. “I’m starving.”

“We can after this?” Ava suggested. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you asking me on a date before our date tonight?”

“Isn’t this all part of our supposed date from last night? Wouldn’t lunch roll into that?”

“Late lunch,” Sara replied checking her phone. Her brows furrowed. “Did you give Amaya my number?”

Ava felt her heart begin to race. “What? No. Why?”

“Because she apparently texted me earlier,” Sara replied, holding up her phone for Ava to see. 

The text read,  _ You’d better have good intentions! -Amaya, a.k.a. Ava’s protective best friend _

Ava groaned and cringed. “Sorry. She’s just worried because me skipping school is so uncharacteristic.”

Sara looked skeptical, but shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice you’ve got friends who watch your back.”

Sara texted back a reply that she didn’t share with Ava, then typed some more on her phone. A few minutes later it buzzed. 

“Ah. It was Zari.”

“Who gave her your number?”

“Yep. She says we make a cute couple, by the way.”

“Really? She doesn’t really seem the type to say something like that.”

“The word disgustingly may have been somewhere in that sentence,” Sara admitted.

“She knows we’re not really...I mean she’s like your best friend here so of course she knows. Never mind.”

Sara watched her with one eyebrow raised and a slight grin, but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, does your dad work this afternoon?”

Sara frowned and looked at her phone again. “Shit. We’ve got to get the car back. He’s gonna be pissed.”

  
  
  


Ava wasn’t sure if she should stay outside this time or not, but unlike the first time she’d gone to Sara’s house, Sara left the door open behind her. 

Ava took it as an invitation. She regretted her decision almost instantly. 

“Do you know how close I was to reporting it stolen? You could have at least left a note, Sara! What were you thinking?”

Sara was being berated by a tall, scruffy, balding man, who, apart from his unkempt appearance, screamed cop. 

“You’re supposed to ask me before you borrow it. Remember? Asking? That thing you never do?”

Sara was glaring at him hard and not shrinking away at all. “Well MAYBE if you hadn’t been blackout DRUNK still from last night I could have!”

Sara’s Dad scoffed. “Blackout drunk? That’s what you think I was? I had a few drinks last night, but that was all. It was a late night and I’ve been working long hours recently. Long hours that put food on the table and a roof over your head, let me remind you. So I slept late. Is that a crime? And here you reward me with grand theft auto! Which, by the way IS an actual crime.”

“It wasn’t theft. I borrowed it.”

“You know what? Just...just give me the keys. I’m running late.”

Sara threw the keys towards her dad and he failed to catch them. He finally noticed Ava as he stood from picking them up. 

“Hi. Sorry you had to see that, friend of my daughter’s.” He nodded at her and walked past her and out the door.

Sara’s shoulders slumped when her dad left. “Quentin Lance, ladies and gentlemen,” she said dryly. 

“Charming,” Ava muttered, still feeling embarrassed that she’d just witnessed that exchange. 

“Believe it or not he was a pretty awesome dad before this all went down. The kind of dad who cooked family dinners and always had a corny joke. He tries still sometimes, but it just...it always proves too painful. It’s just a reminder of the family we aren’t anymore.”

Sara sounded so wistful that Ava couldn’t stop herself from going to her and wrapping her in a tight hug.

Sara hugged her back, but pulled away all-too-soon. “No, it’s fine. He’s got good days and bad days. We all do. At least he talks about her sometimes. My mom practically pretends like she never existed.”

“I’m so sorry. I wish...I wish there was something I could do or say-“

“Don’t we all,” Sara cut her off. “But none of us can.”

Ava didn’t really know what to say to that. 

“It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not yours either,” Ava replied.

“Yes it is,” Sara said, looking away. “Hey, you never got lunch. Let me see what’s in the fridge. I’ll make you something.”

Ava wanted to argue, but it was clear that Sara was done with the conversation. 

“Well....” Sara called from the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets. “I could make pancakes? Or...a beer? Or...um...yeah I should probably do some shopping this weekend.”

“You know how to make pancakes?”

“Don’t sound so surprised!” Sara replied. 

“Sorry.”

“So, would you like some?”

“Sure. Do you need help?” Ava asked. 

“So little faith,” Sara said, shaking her head. 

“No! I just- I didn’t want to just sit around while you cooked for me,” Ava explained. 

“Awww, you’d miss me too much?”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

Sara laughed. “Sure. I’ll let you measure out the flour.”

“Oh, gee, thanks.”

Ava wandered into the kitchen where Sara was already busy getting out ingredients and equipment. 

Ava was impressed as Sara moved with ease around the kitchen, easily telling her how much of each ingredient to measure without having to consult a recipe. 

“We made these a lot growing up,” Sara explained when Ava must have been looking at her curiously for a little too long. 

Before long the pancakes were cooking two at a time in a large, flat pan, and Sara was leaning against the counter, spatula in hand, ready to flip them. 

“So tell me, do you know how to cook anything?” Sara asked. 

“I make a mean bowl of cereal,” Ava offered. 

Sara laughed. “I’m pretty good at that myself.”

Ava thought. She’d never spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking with her mom and dad. She had always been so focussed on her academics.

“Does a baked potato count as cooking?”

“Microwave or oven?”

“Microwave.”

Sara considered this. “Barely, but I’ll take it.”

Ava stuck her tongue out at her. “If it wasn’t going to help me excel in higher education, I kind of haven’t been interested in it,” she admitted.

“Does that mean you haven’t been interested in dating?” Sara asked as she flipped a pancake. 

The question sounded innocent enough, but the gleam in Sara’s eyes wasn’t. 

“Are you asking me if I’ve ever dated anyone?” Ava asked suspiciously. 

“Well? Have you?”

“Yes!”

Ava was a little offended. Did Sara really think she hadn’t dated anyone before? 

“So really it’s anything that wasn’t school or girls,” Sara corrected. 

Ava glared. “I guess.”

“Hey, I wasn’t implying I didn’t think nobody had ever been interested in you before. I KNOW there’s been interest because there’s no way I’m the only one who’s ever noticed you.”

Ava rolled her eyes, but she felt a blush creeping back up her cheeks.

“So you just looked at me and thought ‘inexperienced’?” Ava asked. 

Sara laughed. “I made no assumptions one way or the other. Although, it did take you a little on the long side to work out that I actually was flirting with you.”

“I knew. I just knew you were only doing it to get a rise out of me.”

Sara flipped the pancakes out of the pan and onto a plate, but instead of putting more batter in the pan, she put the spatula down and stepped towards Ava. 

“Do you still think that?”

Ava wanted to say, “well I’ve deduced that you do find me attractive,” but it sounded so conceited, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. 

Sara stepped closer and reached out to take Ava’s hand, lifting it up between them. “Like do you really think I don’t mean any of it?”

Sara’s brows were furrowed but when she brought her gaze up from their intertwined hands to Ava’s eyes, they were daring. 

Ava’s mouth felt dry. She licked her lips and swallowed to try to negate that feeling, and became acutely aware of the way Sara’s eyes flitted to her lips.

“No? I guess.”

Sara smiled and dropped Ava’s hand. She returned to cooking pancakes. “So how experienced are you exactly?” Sara asked, her back to Ava. 

“Are you asking if I’m a virgin?” Ava asked, embarrassed. 

“I was more wondering how many girls I should be jealous of, but since you brought that up...?”

Ava debated not answering. It was none of Sara’s business and it really wasn’t relevant information. The idea that Sara would actually be jealous of her exes was downright laughable. And yet...

“I’ve dated 3 girls and...no.”

“Really?” Sara shot her a grin and sounded intrigued. “Good to know. You can start eating pancakes if you want,” she added gesturing at the plate. 

Ava was thankful for the change in topic. “Thanks.”

Ava decided, as she dug into the (admittedly delicious) pancakes, that she was better off not asking Sara the same question in return.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaya provides some wisdom. Ava is dense. The date may or may not be a real date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I'm so blown away by all the kind words people have to say about this fic. You're all so wonderful. Thank you, thank you!
> 
> Also, I may have started a Nora-centric fic because I just love her. I don't know when I might start to post that, but keep your eyes out if you have any interest.

She should have known, really, that Amaya would be waiting for her at home. 

“Ditching school for a girl? That is very unlike you,” she said in lieu of a greeting. 

“It wasn’t for her. It was for me. Aren’t you the one always telling me there’s more to life?”

“There is, but I didn’t necessarily mean this. Although you do look happy.”

“It was a fun day,” Ava replied. 

Amaya studied her for a moment. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“She’s fun,” Ava replied with a noncommittal shrug. 

“No like you REALLY like her. Are all these non-dates really not dates or are you just not telling me?”

“I do not, and no!”

Amaya smirked. “Your blush tells me otherwise.”

Ava rolled her eyes. Her phone vibrated and she picked it up. Pictures sent from Sara. 

She didn’t realize Amaya was looking over her shoulder until it was too late. 

“Pretty project partner? Really?”

“She put that in my phone,” Ava replied defensively. 

“You didn’t change it,” Amaya pointed out. 

Ava was not going to admit that Amaya had a point. “I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“Well? Are you going to look at the pictures?” Amaya prompted. 

Ava sighed and opened the messages. She knew she was blushing as soon as she saw the first picture of her and Sara smiling together. She scrolled down and then she froze when she saw the one of Sara kissing her cheek. She had a shocked look on her face, but Sara looked confident and beautiful. 

“Sure. Not dates,” Amaya said. 

“She was kidding around.”

“And you were falling for her.”

Ava wanted to argue. She really did. But she was talking to Amaya. Amaya knew her better than anyone and had this way of cutting through the BS that made lying to her a rather futile endeavor. 

“Maybe,” she admitted. “But I mean I’m not one of those girls at school fawning all over her just because she’s cool and hot and making them question their sexuality.”

Amaya grinned. “I would never have assumed anything of the sort.”

“She’s not like I expected her to be,” Ava admitted. 

“Well, to be fair, I never thought she was. I’m fairly certain you only judged her so harshly to begin with to counteract how overwhelmingly attractive you found her.”

Ava glared. Why did Amaya always have to be so wise? It was an annoying characteristic in a best friend.

“So when are you next seeing her?” Amaya asked. 

Ava hesitated. Amaya was going to make a much bigger deal of this than she should. “Tonight.”

Amaya raised an eyebrow at her. “A Friday night date?”

“A fake third date. It’s just dinner.”

“She was with you all yesterday afternoon, stayed over at your house last night, then you ditched to spend all day with her, and now you’re having dinner with her on a Friday night? You might want to reevaluate your idea of fake dating, sweetie.”

Ava rolled her eyes again. She remembered there being more kissing in real dating. Instead of saying so, she said, “I’m pretty sure I’d know if she was actually trying to make a move on me.”

“Okay. Who asked who to dinner tonight?” Amaya asked. 

Ava hesitated sheepishly. “She asked me.”

“Maybe That was her move,” Amaya suggested. 

Ava replayed the invite in her head. It was...okay it was a bit ambiguous actually. But this wasn’t a real date. They’d said third date which meant they were working off the rumor and therefore it was based in fiction, not reality. 

“What’re you gonna wear?” Amaya asked. 

Ava looked down at what she was wearing. 

“Oh, honey, no. Come on, I’ll help you pick out an outfit,” Amaya declared, guiding Ava towards the stairs. “I see she got you to wear your hair down,” Amaya added as they headed up the stairs. “You should definitely keep it down for tonight.”

“How do you know I didn’t decide this on my own?” Ava asked stubbornly. 

Amaya just patted her arm. “Come on. I’ll make sure you’re properly ready for your date.”

  
  
  
  


“You look nice, honey! Going somewhere special tonight?”

“Just out to dinner, Mom,” Ava replied. She smoothed the fabric of her skirt  and adjusted her fancy, tight, blue top. She wasn’t used to dressing up like this. She felt silly. She knew she’d be super overdressed. Amaya had insisted, though. 

“Who’re you going with?” her mom asked. 

“Um, Sara,” Ava replied, hoping that her blush wasn’t too noticeable. 

“Oh that’s nice. Such a nice girl. Are you going too, Amaya?”

Ava looked at Amaya trying to communicate telepathically that she should say yes. If Amaya was going too, then her mom would not ask suspicious questions tomorrow. 

“Yeah. Me and another friend, Zari. Just a group of us going to dinner,” Amaya lied with a smile.

“Oh well, that sounds fun. Enjoy, girls. Text if you’re going to be too late,” Ava’s mom said, then disappeared upstairs.

“Thanks, Mrs. S!” Amaya called after her. 

“Suck up,” Ava said. 

“Suck up who got you out of your mother questioning you about your night tomorrow,” Amaya pointed out.

“Have I mentioned I love you?”

“That’s what I thought,” Amaya said just as the doorbell rang. “Ready for your date?”

“Not a date,” Ava argued, taking a deep breath. 

No. She wasn’t ready at all. 

“Totally a date,” Amaya said, following after her on her way to the door.

Ava took another deep breath with her hand on the doorknob, then opened the door. 

“Hey,” Sara started to say, turning to greet Ava, but she stopped mid-word. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes went wide. “Wow,” she murmured after a moment. 

“Wow,” Ava echoed. Sara stood before her with her hair down, but nicely styled in beautiful loose curls. Her body was hugged by a tight-fitting, long-sleeved, silky red top with a plunging neck-line, and form-fitting, black, leather pants. Ava’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at Sara. How could one person be so stunningly gorgeous?

“Told you it wasn’t too much,” Amaya murmured from just behind her. 

Ava looked down at her outfit and then back at Sara. Suddenly she was glad that Amaya insisted she dress so nicely. She’d have felt underdressed otherwise. 

“You clean up nice, Lance,” Amaya said to Sara. 

“Thanks,” Sara replied with a grin, but her eyes stayed fixed on Ava. 

“Wow! Who knew you were so hot underneath those buttoned-downs!”

Ava realized that Zari was standing on the sidewalk leaning against a car. 

“I did!” Sara called over her shoulder. 

Ava blushed, she couldn’t help it. 

“Sap,” Zari accused. 

Sara shrugged and turned back to Ava. “You might need a coat.”

Ava nodded and grabbed hers from the coat rack, then stepped outside as she slipped it on. Amaya followed and closed the door behind her. 

Sara offered her an arm and Ava only hesitated for a moment before she took it. 

Sara led her to the car as Zari pushed off of it and tossed Sara the keys, which she easily caught. 

“You break it you bought it, Lance,” Zari said. “Don’t you get a scratch on my car!”

“I’ll take good care of her,” Sara assured her. 

Zari walked towards Amaya, who was heading to her car. “Ready?” Amaya asked. 

“Wait, you two are hanging out now?” Ava asked. 

“Well, you both ditched us, so we’re taking Jax out after his track meet,” Zari replied. 

“Have fun on your date!” Amaya said, giving Ava a wink before climbing into the driver’s seat of her car. 

“Not too much fun, though. No sex in my car!” Zari added before getting in the passenger side.

Ava blushed even deeper. 

“Sorry about her. I’m pretty sure she was dropped on her head as a child,” Sara said, shooting Zari a glare. 

They got in the car, and Ava really wished that she wasn’t thinking about having sex with Sara in that car. Why did Zari have to say it? Why did her brain have to run with it? Why did she have to suddenly have visions of kissing her way down Sara’s neck where her hair was pulled back? 

“You okay?” Sara asked. 

“Yeah,” Ava answered quickly.

“You sure?” Sara asked. 

Ava nodded. She was fine. She was definitely not thinking about what it might feel like to have Sara sitting in her lap, kissing her deeply.

Not even a little. 

“You look really beautiful tonight,” Sara said after a few minutes of driving. 

“I don’t know. You don’t think it’s a bit much? I feel a little silly.”

“No. It’s...You look...It’s perfect.”

“Thanks,” Ava replied, blushing again. “Amaya helped me pick it out,” she admitted.

“Zari invited herself over to choose my wardrobe, too. Do you feel like they’re conspiring somehow?”

Ava laughed. “Maybe. But Zari chose well.”

“Yeah?” Sara asked glancing at her in a curious kind of way.

“You look stunning.”

Sara’s answering smile was almost shy. “Thanks.”

  
  
  


Ava found, as they drove along, that she wasn’t quite sure what to say. It was stupid. They’d spent all day together and for the most part hadn’t had any trouble making conversation. This was the same as earlier except they were dressed nicer. It wasn’t as if this was a real date. No more real than their supposed super long second date.

It did not help that all Ava really wanted to do was stare at Sara. (Okay, maybe that wasn’t ALL she wanted to do, but she was trying hard not to think about the other stuff.) She snuck surreptitious glances at Sara out of the corner of her eyes, noting the eye makeup that made her blue eyes pop even more and the red lipstick that matched her top. She looked like she belonged on the pages of a magazine, not in the car next to her. 

“You’re being awfully quiet,” Sara said as she made a turn and shot Ava a curious look. 

“I don’t hear you saying much either,” Ava pointed out.

“Okay. Fair enough. You know I’m kind of surprised your mom didn’t come out and question me about where I was taking you. She was definitely suspicious of me last night.”

“She likes you, actually. Called you a ‘nice girl’,” Ava informed her. 

Sara laughed. “Little does she know.”

“You are nice,” Ava said with a frown. 

“When parents say someone is nice they mean they’re good. I’m not a parent’s definition of a good girl,” Sara argued. 

“You have a good heart. That’s what’s important,” Ava countered.

“I’m not sure your mother would agree if she knew I’d gotten you to skip school today.”

“Excuse you, but I got myself to skip school. I made up my own mind and I did it for myself.”

“Okay. Okay. Good. I’m glad,” Sara replied, holding up a hand defensively. “So when do I need to have you home tonight? Or do I have you all night?” Sara asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. 

Ava was thrown by the sudden change of subject and the innuendo.

“Um, I don’t really have a curfew,” Ava replied. 

“Because you’re ACTUALLY a good girl,” Sara said knowingly. “I don’t either, but mostly because my dad’s working late and doesn’t expect me to listen to his attempts to enforce a curfew anyway.”

Ava was about to open her mouth to argue that Sara was good, too, but Sara pulled into a parking lot and announced, “We’re here.”

Sara hopped out of the car quickly and opened Ava’s door for her. Well, two could play at the chivalry thing. 

Ava was so focused on getting to the restaurant door first so she could open it for Sara that she didn’t take the time to see where “here” was until they were standing inside and Sara was shooting her a curious look. 

“Fondu,” Ava said with a smile. 

“I did tell you it was my favourite. And chocolate will be involved in dessert. I figured win-win,” Sara replied with a shrug and a grin.

When Sara went up to the hostess stand and gave them her name, Ava realised that she must have called to book a reservation at some point earlier. Ava didn’t really know why she was surprised at that, except that it seemed more like something she’d do if she was really trying to date her.

When they were shown to their table, Ava moved to pull out a chair for Sara, only to look up to see Sara doing the same for her. They both let out an awkward laugh and sat down in the seats they’d pulled out. 

The hostess watched them in amusement, then handed them their menus and told them their server would be along shortly. 

Ava buried her face in the menu, wondering again why being with Sara was suddenly so awkward.

“I’m thinking the classic Swiss fondu. That work for you?” Sara asked. “I mean I’m good with any of them. It’s hard to go wrong with melted cheese really, so if one looks more appetizing to you...”

“Classic is fine,” Ava replied. 

“Want any dippers besides bread and apples?”

Ava laughed. “Apples so we have some fruit and pretend we’re being healthy?”

“See? I knew you’d get it,” Sara replied with a wink. “Plus we’re getting protein from the cheese. We’re doing great!”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Sounds delicious.”

“We can have strawberries to dip in the chocolate for dessert, too. Double the fruit.”

“Your idea of a balanced diet might be lacking a little,” Ava informed her. 

Sara shook her head. “Nah.”

Ava laughed again. 

The server came and took their order, and with it, their menus and Ava’s only tool to hide her blush with. It wouldn’t have been a problem, except that as soon as the server left the awkward silence descended upon them again. 

“So, how was your day?” Ava asked without thinking the question through. 

Sara looked surprised and amused, but answered anyway. “Pretty good, really.  I spent a pretty fun day with a pretty great girl, so...you know.”

Ava blushed hard and was thankful that the server chose that moment to deliver their glasses of water.

“How about you? How was your day?” Sara asked. 

“Okay, I know. It was stupid! You don’t have to rub it in.”

“I’m not rubbing it in!” Sara replied. 

“You definitely are!”

“Maybe I genuinely want your take on the day!”

Ava didn’t believe that fo a second. “No you don’t.”

Sara crossed her arms and studied Ava for a moment. “Are you always this argumentative on a first date?”

Ava opened her mouth to say no, and then Sara’s words sank in. “A what?”

“I know, I know, the rumor is third, but since this is actually our first-“

“This is a real date?”

Sara studied Ava another moment. A longer moment. Her brows were furrowed. “I’m pretty sure I asked you out earlier.”

“Yeah, but...that was...” Ava’s mind reeled. She was on an actual date with Sara Lance.

Gorgeous Sara Lance. Popular Sara Lance. Cool Sara Lance. The Sara Lance that half or more of the student body wanted to get with.

THAT Sara Lance had asked her out. THAT Sara Lance was sitting across from her looking somewhere between amused and confused. 

“Oh,” she finally said. 

Sara frowned suddenly. “Unless you don’t want this to be a date.”

“No, I do!” Ava assured her, a little too quickly. She felt her blush deepen. Way to seem overeager, she berated herself. 

“You know you dressed for a date, right?”

“Amaya...” Ava trailed off as recognition dawned. “Zari’s your best friend so she knew this was a date?”

Sara nodded confirmation. 

“And she and Amaya have been becoming friends and very likely plotting behind our backs.”

“That makes them sound a bit more ominous than they are, but also probably true,” Sara agreed. 

“So Amaya knew it was a real date,” Ava concluded. “That’s why she was so insistent on the dress. And she tried to tell me,” Ava realized. “I just wouldn’t listen.”

Sara was watching her with an amused expression. “Why not?”

“Because you’re yo!. I mean you’re… And earlier when I thought maybe you… And then you were joking about fake dating and...”

“Is there a chance you might finish a sentence again sometime tonight?” Sara asked with a smirk. 

Ava glared. “You could have made a move earlier.”

Sara looked sheepish. “I...wanted to,” she admitted. “I just...Well, we hadn’t actually been on a real date yet.”

Ava studied her for a moment. She got the feeling that wasn’t the whole reason. That didn’t seem like the type of thing that would actually keep Sara from making a move. 

“So, now that you know, start over?” Sara asked as the server arrived back at the table. 

Ava smiled a shy smile and nodded. 

The server walked them through what she added to the pot, but Ava barely heard her. She was too busy looking over the pot at Sara. 

Sara kept shooting her smiles with a glint in her eyes that Ava couldn’t quite read. Her stunningly blue eyes that gleamed in the low lighting of the restaurant. The steam rising off the melting cheese just added an air of surrealness. 

Still, it was true. She, Ava Sharpe, resident nerd, was on a date with Sara Lance.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava enjoy their date (and never want it to end).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all the best readers a girl could ask for! Enjoy this next chapter that was originally split in two again.

It took Ava a little while to notice, but when she did she still had trouble believing it. Sara, for all of her projected confidence and flirty winks, was nervous. Sara was nervous being on a date with her. 

Sara hesitated before saying something for the fifth time in the span of ten minutes and Ava found herself grinning. Somehow knowing Sara wasn’t as confident as she appeared about this made Ava feel more confident. 

“You’re cute,” Ava blurted. 

Sara smiled. “Yeah? Why?”

Ava shrugged and smiled to herself as she dipped another piece of bread into the cheese and stirred it around to make sure it was completely coated. “You just are.”

“Okay, but seriously, you’re not going to tell me even one slightly embarrassing story about yourself? My dad told you about the time I ate strawberry soap because it smelled good and I thought it might taste good. I was literally coughing bubbles,” she asked after a moment. 

Sara grinned. “I did like that story. Although, I can kind of understand little Ava’s reasoning.”

Ava glared. 

“I still like you as King Arthur the best though. Little Ava playing at being a Knight, rescuing fair maidens? It’s perfect,” Sara said, her grin turning to a smirk. 

“I swear if he pulls out the pictures I’m leaving home,” Ava groaned. 

“No, I’m pretty sure I NEED those pictures in my life.”

“See? All this mocking and I don’t know a single embarrassing thing about you.”

“Okay, fine. Embarrassing story coming up,” Sara relented. “You ready?”

“Hell yes,” Ava replied, leaning forward eagerly. 

Sara leaned back and crossed her arms, then sighed. “Okay. Here goes. When I was ten I was in a school play.”

“What play?” Ava asked. She could already tell this was going to be good. 

“Peter Pan. I was Peter Pan and I got on stage opening night for my first scene and froze. My mind went blank. I couldn’t remember a single line.”

“Oh my god! Poor you!”

“Wait, it gets better. So I stood there doing nothing for a good sixty seconds, and then I broke out in a tap dance, just to do something, and then I ran offstage crying. How’s that for embarrassing?” 

Ava couldn’t help her laughter. “That is adorable. Also, you dance?”

“Among other things,” Sara replied with a wink. 

“There had better be pictures of you as Peter Pan,” Ava said, trying to ignore the blush rising back on her cheeks. 

“None that you will ever see!”

“But they do exist!” Ava declared with glee.

“How do I make you forget that they exist?” Sara asked. 

“Not possible,” Ava assured her.    
Sara leaned forward and reached across the table to take Ava’s hand. “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice dropping and taking on a husky quality that sent a shiver down Ava’s spine. 

Ava looked up from where their fingers were intertwined to Sara’s face. Sara was looking at her with one eyebrow raised in a question far more seductive than the one that had left her lips.    
Ava swallowed hard. “Best I can offer is a trade. King Arthur for Peter Pan.”

Sara laughed, her thumb rubbing lightly over the back of Ava’s hand as she did so. “Okay. I might be able to handle that trade.”

“Are you ladies done with the cheese?” the server asked. 

Ava and Sara both sat back quickly, surprised. Clearly neither of them had noticed the server approaching their table. 

Sara peered into the fondue pot. “There’s still cheese in there. If there’s still cheese in there, I’m not done,” she informed the server.

“Okay, well, just let me know,” the server said. “I’ll check back with you in a little while.”

Ava noticed the way the server looked at Sara as she spoke and the way her eyes lingered when she left. 

“Or you could not,” she mumbled. 

Sara gave her a curious look.

“She, like everyone else on the planet, finds you attractive and would like to catch your eye,” Ava replied. 

Sara rolled her eyes. “That is a gross exaggeration, and she’s out of luck because someone else already caught my eye.”

“What made you think I’d want to catch your eye?” Ava challenged, partially to tease her, and partially because she was genuinely curious. It wasn’t like she’d been that receptive to Sara when they’d first gotten assigned to work together. 

Sara shrugged. “Oh, you know, you’re someone on this planet, so that was my first hint.”

Ava stuck out her tongue at Sara who laughed. 

“Then there were all those times you called me insufferable. So yeah, basically I thought, ‘hey I might have something with this girl.’”

It was Ava’s turn to laugh. “You might want to look up insufferable in the dictionary.”

“Well, the way you use it, I’m assuming it just means ‘really hot’,” Sara replied with a wink. “Now come on, let’s eat this cheese before she comes back and tries to steal it again!”

  
  


There was something incredibly sexual about watching Sara lick chocolate off of a strawberry. Ava was not handling it well. 

She wasn’t even trying to be provocative. At least, Ava didn’t think she was. She was just catching the dripping chocolate with her tongue and then enveloping the strawberry with her lips once she’d successfully done that.

The problem was that it was doing  _ things _ to Ava. Her cheeks felt hot and her breaths had grown shallow. Worse: it was putting ideas in her head. Ideas about a better use for Sara’s tongue and lips than strawberries and chocolate. Ideas about a better use for chocolate, for that matter. 

Ava bit her lower lip, trying to bite back the image her brain had conjured of licking chocolate off of Sara’s body.

“I thought chocolate was your favorite food,” Sara said. 

“Huh?” Ava asked, snapping out of her pleasant (if inappropriate for a first date) daydream. 

“You’re not eating,” Sara pointed out.   
Ava looked down at the empty fondue fork in her hand and blushed. “Oh, right.”

Sara put her own fondue fork down and leaned forward, looking at Ava with interest. “Why weren’t you eating?” she asked suspiciously.

Ava quickly speared a strawberry and dipped it in the chocolate. “Uh, I was just...thinking, I guess,” she replied.

Sara raised an eyebrow. “Thinking about what?”

Ava knew her blush was deepening. She shoved the strawberry in her mouth to give her a second to think.

“Just...chocolate?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Sara asked with a smirk that said she knew Ava was lying. 

Instead of answering Ava dipped another strawberry in the chocolate. 

“So not just chocolate then,” Sara said, smirking more. 

“Now you’re the one who’s not eating,” Ava pointed out. 

“True. Now I’m seeing how red your face can get,” Sara replied. 

Ava blushed harder. 

“Actually, it’s fun trying to guess what you might have been thinking to make your cheeks turn so red.”

Ava ate her chocolate dipped strawberry and tried to calm her blush.

“Wait, were you actually thinking about chocolate? Was chocolate involved?”

Ava didn’t answer, but judging by the grin that spread across Sara’s face, her blush answered for her. 

Sara scooted her chair around the table and leaned in close. “Ava Sharpe are you secretly a little kinky?” she asked in a low voice. 

“What? No! I mean everyone has kinks, it’s human, but -“

“I think I just achieved maximum blush. You’re adorable.”

Ava glared at her. “Yeah, well you’re-“

Sara leaned in and before Ava could get out another word, Sara’s lips were on hers. 

Ava’s eyes fluttered closed and her heart raced. Sara’s lips were soft and just the feeling of them pressed firmly against her own shot tingles through her whole body. 

“Let me guess,” Sara murmured against her lips, “insufferable?”

“Amazing,” Ava contradicted her, then closed the gap between them again.

This kiss lingered. When they did pull apart, Ava shot Sara a shy smile. 

Sara’s eyes gleamed in the romantic lighting, her gaze intense. Ava wanted to lean back in and kiss her again. In fact, if she never stopped kissing her, that might actually be okay with her. 

Before she could act on that impulse, the server returned once again. 

“Are you ladies all set?”

“Yeah. Check please,” Sara said, much to Ava’s surprise, her gaze never leaving Ava. 

Ava knew for a fact there was still chocolate in the pot. She raised a curious eyebrow at Sara. 

Sara’s tongue wet her lips and she grinned. “You’re a sweet enough dessert for me,” she said with a wink. 

Ava blushed deeply. Suddenly she didn’t mind not having any more chocolate either. 

Well, maybe one or two more strawberries dipped in it, she decided as the server brought their check.

She and Sara reached for it at the same time. 

“I’ve got it,” they both said at once, then laughed. 

“Ava, it’s a date. One you didn’t even realize you were on to start with,” Sara argued.

“Just means I should pay to make it up to you,” Ava countered. 

“I did the asking. I should pay.”

“What if we split it?” Ava asked. 

“What if you get the next one?” Sara proposed. 

Ava relented with a sigh and let go. Sara grinned victoriously. She paid in cash and they quickly left the restaurant, but Ava did spare a glare at the server on the way out. 

When they were out of the door and back into the cold night air, Ava headed towards the car, but Sara caught her hand and spun her around.

Ava’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at Sara under the streetlight lighting the parking lot. How was it that she continuously surprised her with just how beautiful she was?

Sara tugged her towards her, cupping Ava’s face with one hand before slipping her fingers into her hair. “I’m glad you left it down,” Sara murmured pulling Ava down towards her. 

Ava leaned into the kiss, her eyes fluttering shut. Her hands fell to Sara’s waist and she pulled her in closer, feeling the warmth of Sara’s body pressed against hers. They deepened the kiss and their tongues brushed first tentatively together. Soon there was nothing tentative about their kiss and Ava was getting lost in sensations. The sweet floral smell of Sara’s shampoo, the firm press of Sara’s lips on hers, the sweet taste of Sara’s tongue on hers. It was overwhelming and amazing all at once. 

Sara’s hand moved back to cup her cheek and she broke the kiss. When Ava opened her eyes a moment later, Sara had a smile on her face. 

“I’m not ready for this date to end. You?”

Ava shook her head. 

Sara took her hand. “Come on. I know a place.”

  
  
  


“How do you know all these little places in my town that I’ve never found?” Ava asked. 

Sara laughed and gave Ava’s hand a little squeeze as they strolled through the small park. It had old-fashioned street lights lighting up a little square with neatly-trimmed hedges lining the square, and slate walkways. In the center was a small fountain surrounded by ornate benches. The park was serene and empty save for them. It was perfect. 

“Maybe it’s because I don’t take the time to color-code my homework folders,” Sara teased. 

“It makes it easier to find in class,” Ava replied defensively. 

“I think it’s cute,” Sara assured her, tugging her hand so that Ava spun in for a quick kiss. 

They resumed strolling slowly, hand in hand.

They walked in silence for a bit, but Ava’s curiosity was getting the best of her. 

“When we first scheduled to get together and you kept joking about a date, did you know we’d end up on an actual date?”

Sara laughed and shook her head. “I could tell you weren’t exactly my biggest fan. I might have hoped to change your mind, though.”

“Well, mission accomplished there,” Ava replied. “And when you insisted I had called you pretty when I hadn’t really was that because you could tell I thought you were attractive?”

“Well, come on, who wouldn’t be attracted to this?” Sara joked, gesturing up and down her body. 

“Clearly no one,” Ava replied, elbowing Sara in the side, which only served to make her laugh more.

“But you DID find me attractive from the start?” Sara asked, looking smug. 

Ava rolled her eyes. “I’m not blind.”

Sara stopped in front of a bench and gestured at it. “Want to sit?”

Ava nodded and the two sat, not letting go of each other’s hands. Sara’s glimmer of insecurity had Ava wondering, though. “Did you find me attractive from the start?”

Sara grinned at her. “I’m not blind either.”

“Okay, but from the start, you mean like when we got assigned to each other for the project.”

Sara narrowed her eyes at Ava. “Why exactly do you think that I wouldn’t have noticed you before that, Miss Always-Has-Her-Hand-Up?”

Ava blushed. “Okay, but that’s obnoxious right?”

“Maybe at times, but I think people respect you for it, too. Besides, if you didn’t raise your hand so much, I never would’ve seen this adorably uptight girl sitting behind me,” she added with a wink.

“So, what, you were interested the first time you saw me raise my hand in class?” Ava asked sarcastically. She knew the answer had to be no. 

“Mmm, pretty much. Well, it was the cute little smug smile when you got the answer right, and the way you tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear to try to hide your cute little smug smile.”

Ava stared at her in disbelief. She didn’t...No, she DID do that, didn’t she. It wasn’t her fault. It felt good to know things.

Sara’s words really sunk in. “You were really watching me?”

“Cute girl with a brain she was proud of? Yeah,” Sara assured her. 

That information made Ava’s head reel. She’d been judging Sara on shallow things like how others reacted to her, meanwhile Sara had noticed her and been interested in her from the start. “Why didn’t you ever talk to me?”

“You seemed focused on other things. Like finding me annoying,” Sara said with a teasing smile.

“You do know I might have changed my mind if you’d talked to me sooner,” Ava countered. 

“Or you’d have shut me out if we weren’t forced to interact,” Sara said. 

“I can’t imagine that,” Ava replied honestly.

“You don’t remember me trying to get our first study date do you?” Sara asked. 

Ava had to admit that Sara had a point. “Okay, maybe. But in my defense group projects are stupid.”

“I don’t know. I think they aren’t all bad.”   
Sara’s fingers stroked her cheek and she turned in to them. They traced their way to under her chin and turned her face towards her, catching her in a kiss.

Ava’s whole body felt like it was melting into Sara as she leaned into the kiss, and warmth flooded her body despite the chill in the air. She hummed unconsciously into the kiss, then her conscious brain caught up to the contented sound she’d just made and embarrassment kicked in.

She jerked away, but Sara pulled her back mumbling, “It was cute,” against her lips. 

Ava could feel herself blushing, but when Sara’s tongue brushed against her lips which parted eagerly, she forgot all about it.

It was a while before they broke apart again, both breathless and flushed. Sara’s smile was halfway between sly and shy as she looked up at Ava through long lashes. 

“I have to admit, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to do that,” Sara commented. 

“Why?”

Sara shrugged. “Normally I don’t encounter quite so much resistance to my flirting. You made me work for it.”

“Is that why you’re so damn cocky?” Ava asked and Sara’s answering laugh echoed around the small park, accentuating the stillness of the quiet evening. 

It made Ava’s heart skip a beat. 

“Probably.”

“You could have pretty much any girl at school,” Ava pointed out. 

“I’m with the only one I’m interested in,” Sara replied. “Besides, maybe I liked the challenge.”

Ava blushed. “You like making life harder for yourself?”

“What’s the fun in easy?” Sara asked with a wink, but the smile that graced her lips didn’t reach her eyes. 

Ava frowned. What had she said? She’d been teasing, she hadn’t meant anything by it.

“What?”

Sara shook her head and smiled a little broader. “Nothing.” The smile still didn’t reach her eyes. 

Ava replayed the conversation in her head and realization slapped her in the face. “Oh.”

Sara raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Sorry.”

“What?”

“Laurel and your parents and...I just forgot that your life isn’t easy anyway.”

Sara shrugged. “You’re fun hard. That’s just shitty.”

“Fun hard?”

“Imagine a really complex math problem you’re pretty sure you can solve,” Sara said with a cheeky grin. 

Ava hated how well that analogy worked.

“You just think I’m a massive nerd don’t you?”

“No, I KNOW you’re a massive nerd. And I like it.”

“So I’m like a complex math problem?”

“But more interesting,” Sara replied. “And a lot hotter.”

Ava coughed as her cheeks flushed red. 

“You know, one of these days you’re going to stop being surprised when I point out how attractive you are.”

“I wasn’t...I’m just...” Ava saw the smirk on Sara’s face grow. “You’re just teasing me again aren’t you?”

“You just make it so easy, and you turn all adorably red...it’s hard to resist,” Sara said with a sly grin. 

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Ava replied, narrowing her eyes at Sara. 

“YOU’RE hard to resist,” Sara said, lacing her fingers through Ava’s hair and pulling her in for another kiss. 

Ava’s heart raced as her eyelids fluttered closed and she melted into the kiss. 

The kiss deepened and Ava slid her hand inside Sara’s coat and around her waist, emboldened by Sara’s words. 

A muffled sound escaped Sara’s lips, and she jumped slightly. 

“What?” Ava asked, starting to pull her hand back. 

Sara caught it and wrapped it back around her. “Your fingers are cold,” she said with a small laugh, pulling Ava back in for another kiss. 

“Sorry,” Ava mumbled into the kiss. 

“I don’t mind,” Sara replied, not breaking the kiss.

Ava’s fingers traced along the hem of Sara’s top, feeling the warmth radiating off her body beneath as Sara’s hand that wasn’t tangled in her hair, found Ava’s hip. 

“God, you’re good at this,” Ava gasped after a few minutes of what she could only think of as blissfully making out with the gorgeous girl in front of her. 

Sara leaned back and looked at her with a smug smile. “Oh yeah? Well, you’re not bad yourself.”

“Not bad, huh?” Ava asked, fully aware she was being provoked. She didn’t care because it gave her the perfect excuse to kiss Sara again.

“Better than not bad,” Sara conceded with a smile against Ava’s lips a few minutes later, resting her forehead against Ava’s. 

It was a few more minutes and a few more kisses before Ava registered the cold kiss of a snowflake on her cheeks. She broke apart and looked up only to have a snowflake land right in her eye.

She blinked furiously against the cold and the pain while Sara asked an alarmed, “Are you okay? Ava?”

“Yeah, just got snow in my eye,” she admitted sheepishly. “In related news, it’s snowing.”

“In March,” Sara said. 

“At least it’s not frozen rain?” Ava pointed out. 

Sara laughed. “I didn’t mind being stranded with you.”

The snow began to fall more heavily and it stuck fast to the cold ground. 

“I guess we should go before it gets worse,” Ava sighed. 

“Probably. I’m not big on driving in the snow,” Sara confessed. She stood and offered a hand to Ava, which she took. 

Sara pulled her up with a tug that was hard enough that Ava was pulled straight into her arms. 

Sara placed a slow, lingering kiss on her lips as the snow fell wet and heavy around them, blanketing the world in a serene stillness. 

Cold flakes landed on their heads and melted into their hair as they kissed again and again. 

They broke apart, laughing, the sound swallowed quickly by the snow now blanketing the small park in a thin layer. 

They walked hand-in-hand, no rush to their steps as they made their way out of the park. By the time they reached the car, the snow was sticking pretty well to the roads. 

Sara hesitated at the driver’s side door. 

“Do you want me to drive? My dad taught me in snowy parking lots when I was 13. Don’t tell the cops,” Ava said with a wink. 

“Zari might kill me.”

“Will she care more if you wreck her car or if you let me drive?” Ava asked. 

“Your faith in my driving is overwhelming,” Sara said dryly. 

“Hey, you’re the one who said you weren’t so comfortable driving in the snow,” Ava pointed out. 

Sara hesitated for another second, then tossed Ava the car keys. 

Despite the unexpected throw, Ava caught them easily. 

“Don’t tell Zari,” Sara requested as she slid past Ava to the passenger side.

They headed away from the middle of town, and the roads were indeed getting slick. Despite her experience driving in the snow, the tires lost purchase a few times. She went to make a turn towards her house, but hesitated. “If I take me home, you still have to drive you home, but if I take you home, then I have Zari’s car,” she said, appreciative that already the roads weren’t crowded and there was nobody behind her at the stop sign. 

“Stay over.”

Ava’s heart skipped a beat. “What?” Maybe she hadn’t heard Sara right. Despite the rumor at school, she was not actually a sleep with a girl on the first date kind of girl.

“My dad’s working, the roads are bad, and my house is closer anyway. Just...stay.”

Stay at Sara’s. Her parents probably wouldn’t question it, especially given the weather. Two nights in a row of sleepovers with Sara… the idea was enticing, only Ava hadn’t noticed a spare bedroom when she’d been at Sara’s earlier. 

“Where would I sleep?” she asked, half dreading and half excited by the potential answer. 

Sara’s fingers found hers on the gearshift and trailed slowly up them towards her arm. “With me.”

Ava’s heart started to race and her hands became clammy. She just knew that she was blushing fiercely. “Sara, I-“

“In bed, with pajamas on or clothes or something. Ava, you didn’t even know we were on a date until partway through it. Did you really think I’d expect you to just hop into bed with me tonight?”

“You are expecting me to hop into bed with you,” Ava pointed out, trying not to feel disappointed. She wasn’t ready for that. Sara was right, part of her brain was still catching up to the fact that she was on a date with her in the first place. 

Sara rolled her eyes. “I’m not expecting sex. I’m not a guy.”

Ava laughed. “If you were a guy, this wouldn’t be a date.”

“Good point.”

Ava hesitated longer. 

“Well?” Sara prompted. “As cozy as this stop sign is I’m not overly eager to spend the whole night here.”

“Okay,” Ava said, switching her turn signal to the other way and making the turn. 

So she was going to spend the night in bed with Sara Lance. That couldn’t possibly go wrong.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava has trouble keeping her eyes to herself and Sara has trouble keeping her hands to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short fluffy chapter. The first lines of this one are some of my favorites in the story so far, so I hope you like them too. Thank you all for your continued support in this. I've been going through a rough week with a death in the family and illness in me and the kids (hopefully all on the mend now!), and your feedback always makes me smile!  
> Enjoy!

Sara really needed to stop casually undressing in front of her. 

Or undress further. 

No. The former. The former was right. 

It was just that her muscles were so toned and her skin looked so smooth and inviting. Ava bit her bottom lip and looked down as Sara turned around. 

“Here, this should fit fine. It’s long on me,” Sara said, tossing her a shirt. 

Ava almost dropped it because she was looking down, and when she looked up in surprise to catch it, she was faced with Sara in just a bra and those tight black, leather pants. 

She really couldn’t help the way that her eyes fell over the curve of Sara’s breasts and the defined muscles of her stomach. She couldn’t help the way her eyes followed the cut of her hips on down. 

“See something you like?”

“I, uh, thanks for the shirt,” she mumbled, blushing profusely and turning away, but not missing the smirk on Sara’s face as she did so.

“So damn cocky,” Ava muttered, holding the shirt in her hand and internally debating if it would be weird if she went to the bathroom to put it on after Sara had just casually taken her shirt off. 

Sara had seen the bikini picture, she reminded herself. Except a picture and in person were different. 

“So you said,” Sara replied, sounding closer. 

When Ava looked up, Sara still wasn’t wearing a shirt, and was standing close behind her. 

“Need help with that?”

“What?” Ava asked, swallowing hard. 

“You know you have to take this one off to put that one on, right?” Sara said, tugging at the hem of Ava’s top and nodding to the one in her hands. 

“Obviously,” Ava sighed. 

“Bathroom’s down the hall, if you want.”

Well, that settled it. If Sara thought that she was too timid or self-conscious or whatever to change in front of her, she had another thing coming to her. 

Ava glanced over her shoulder with a sly smile and a glance up and down Sara’s body. “I’m good, thanks.”

Before she could lose her nerve, she placed the shirt in her hands on the desk in front of her and peeled off her top. 

Sara was close enough that her arm brushed against her warm skin as she dropped her shirt to the floor. That meant that she was close enough to hear the slight catch in Sara’s breathing and the way she murmured an almost strangled, “Okay, then.”

Ava risked another look over her shoulder, to find Sara unabashedly trailing her eyes over her back. 

Before she could think better of it, Ava turned to face her, and, to her delight, Sara’s cheeks turned slightly pink and she blinked hard in surprise. After a moment of lingering, Sara’s eyes snapped up to meet Ava’s. 

“I, uh-“ Sara started, but the sentence stayed unfinished. “Wow,” she said instead, looking approving.

“See something you like?” she tossed Sara’s words back at her.

“Yes,” Sara replied, before moving in quickly for a kiss so forceful Ava had to step back, her hips knocking against the desk. 

She didn’t care, though, because Sara’s breasts were pressed against hers and Sara’s one hand tangled in her hair while her other trailed down the bare skin of her back, Sara’s tongue and lips felt like magic against her own. 

Ava put a hand back against the desk to brace herself as Sara leaned in more, and she let her other hand find Sara’s hip and slide slowly up, feeling the muscles flex and the soft warmth of her smooth skin. 

It was like sensory overload on Sara, and Ava wasn’t sure she’d survive if it went on, and simultaneously never wanted it to stop. 

All too soon, Sara broke the kiss and took a few steps back, looking at her breathlessly. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “Sorry, I know we’re not, I just...And you’re so damn...I couldn’t help it.”

Ava breathed heavily, trying to regain her composure and simultaneously trying very hard not to notice the rise and fall of Sara’s chest as she did the same.

“It’s fine,” Ava replied, aware that her cheeks must be flushed red.  

Sara took a step back towards her, and for a moment Ava thought she was going to kiss her again, but, instead, Sara reached around her and grabbed the shirt. She pulled it down over Ava’s head. 

“Well that’s only slightly less tempting. Damn, you look good in my clothes,” Sara commented. 

“Are you going to follow that up with some line about how I’d look even better in your pants or something?” Ava asked accusingly. 

“What? No!” Sara replied, sounding slightly offended. “Although not untrue...” she added after a moment of thought. 

Ava pretended she didn’t hear the implied invitation. “Is there a chance you’re going to be putting on a shirt tonight?”

“Am I too tempting for you?”

“Something like that,” Ava replied, while her brain said, “Yes. Exactly that.”

“Well, I normally sleep naked-“

Ava instantly choked on her saliva at that and took a moment to compose herself. 

“Don’t die. I was just kidding. Don’t worry. I’ll take away the temptation,” she said with a wink and promptly pulled another shirt out of her drawer and slipped it on.

In another smooth movement, Sara had unhooked her bra and was pulling it out of the arm of her shirt. 

Ava tried to remember to breathe and to not stare at the front of her shirt. 

Sara sighed happily. “Much better. Are you gonna sleep in yours?” 

“I, uh...”

“Need help? I’m a bit of a master at it,” Sara said with a smirk and a wink. 

“I’ll bet,” Ava retorted, pushing away the twinge of jealousy she felt at thinking about how Sara might have become the master of removing other girl’s bras.

Sara looked at her expectantly and Ava realized she hadn’t really answered. Then again, she’d assumed it was just a joke. 

“I’ve got it,” Ava assured her, not trusting herself to behave if Sara came that close AND had her hand up her shirt. 

  
  
  


They finished getting ready for bed without much more incident. Sara left the room after handing Ava a pair of pajama shorts so there was no awkwardness there, and Sara was sitting in her own pair of shorts on the edge of the bed when Ava got back from the bathroom, having used the spare, dentist-issued toothbrush that Sara found for her. 

“Do you have a side? Or do you not care?”

Ava pointed to the side closest to the door. “If you don’t mind.”

“I prefer next to the wall, actually.”

“I guess we fit well together, then.”

Sara shot her a surprised smile. “I guess so.”

Sara slid into bed and held the covers open for her. 

This was it. She was about to jump into bed with Sara Lance. They were going to be together in bed all night. This was...fine. It would be fine. She could control herself. Sara could...probably control herself. It would be fine. 

She took a deep breath and climbed into bed, pulling the blankets quickly over her. 

“Who doesn’t have flannel pj pants?” Ava grumbled just to have something not sexy to focus on. 

“People who aren’t used to needing them,” Sara retorted. “Besides, this feels nicer than flannel,” Sara added, letting one of her legs slide against Ava’s calf. 

“Right,” Ava said in a small voice. 

“Are you tired yet?” Sara asked. 

“Not really,” Ava admitted. 

“Me neither. How would you like to pass the time until we’re tired enough to sleep?”

Ava didn’t hesitate. She kissed Sara deeply. 

Sara let out a small squeal of surprise, but kissed back enthusiastically.

Sara’s hand slid under the hem of her shirt and settled on her side, radiating warmth through her. Her thumb grazed back and forth over her skin and a shiver of excitement ran through Ava. 

Ava wrapped her arm around Sara, pulling her closer. 

“You know,” Sara mumbled against Ava’s lips, “I’m trying,” she punctuated her muffled speech with another kiss, “to be good,” and another, “over here.”

Sara’s lips left Ava’s and kissed their way across her cheek and down Ava’s throat. Ava tilted her head back and did her best to stifle a small groan of pleasure. 

“But you’re not making it easy for me,” Sara breathed against her throat, her breath tickling her.

“Like you’ve made any of this easy for me with your suggestive comments and coy winks?” Ava retorted before dragging Sara back up for another kiss.

“I wasn’t trying to make it easy for you,” Sara mumbled between kisses. 

Ava broke the kiss and pulled back just enough to look Sara in the face without having to break contact with her body. “Wait, what?”

“I was trying to get you to loosen the reigns and be less of a good girl,” Sara pointed out. “You, on the other hand, in theory, want me to be good tonight. I’m trying very hard to be good.” Sara’s hand slid up her side, stopping just as it hit her ribs, and slid back down. “Lying here kissing you and touching you is not helping.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to stay,” Ava argued, moving a little further back. 

“I still do. You’re the one who didn’t want to sleep together on the first date.”

“I don’t. Wait you do?” Ava’s head felt like it was swimming with information. 

“Honestly, if you’d invited me into your bed before the first official date I’d probably have said yes,” Sara replied. 

Ava wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or not. 

“Technically I did say you could stay in my bed last night. You did turn me down.”

Sara narrowed her eyes. “You know what I meant.”

Ava considered what Sara had said. It still seemed so improbable, even with Sara lying there next to her, tangled up in her. 

“Look, you’re hot and I don’t always have the best track record with waiting,” Sara admitted.

Something that felt an awful lot like jealousy twisted in Ava’s gut. 

“But wanting and expecting are two different things, and I’d never expect to rush you into anything physical.”

“This doesn’t count as physical?” Ava asked, kissing Sara slowly and running her hand up Sara’s back. 

Sara smiled. “This is more than I was expecting,” Sara replied. 

“I’m not a prude,” Ava said defensively, pulling back a little again. 

“I didn’t think you were,” Sara assured her.

To emphasize her point, Sara slid her leg between Ava’s and pulled her in for another kiss. 

“You are far too tempting,” Ava sighed into the kiss. 

When she realized that she’d actually admitted that aloud, she pulled back, blushing profusely. 

“Maybe we should...talk until we fall asleep?” Sara suggested, untangling herself from Ava and rolling onto her back, breathing heavily.

“Right. Yeah.  Talk,” Ava agreed, hoping her disappointment didn’t show in her voice or on her face. She shouldn’t be disappointed. She shouldn’t rush into bed with Sara...or well, into sex. It was just, damn she was enticing. And such a good kisser. And she seemed to instinctively know how to touch her to set her body on fire. Ava took a deep, shaky breath. “Talk is good.”

Ava looked up and the canary painted on the wall caught her eye. Sara must have followed her gaze because she said, “She’d have thought you were too good for me.”

“That’s stupid,” Ava replied reflexively. She wasn’t too good for Sara. Sara was good. Sara was amazing. 

Sara was also frowning at her. 

“Not that your sister was stupid. I mean you said she wanted to be a lawyer, so that takes brains, and you’re smart, so I’m sure she was also smart, and -“

Sara smirked at her. 

“You enjoy watching me squirm, don’t you?”

“Maybe a little,” Sara admitted. “And she  _ was _ smart. Really smart. She was the brains of the family.”

“I think you’re selling yourself short,” Ava replied with a frown. 

“No, my smarts mostly lie in the ‘how to get away with stuff and not get caught’ department. Laurel was the naturally good student. I get good grades, but I have to work at it. Laurel just...knew stuff.”

“She sounds like someone I would’ve liked to meet.”

Sara smiled a wistful kind of smile and her eyes didn’t seem focussed on anything in particular as she nodded. “Yeah. You two probably would’ve gotten along. Better than you and I at first.”

“At first?”

“Well, I like to think that you’d have still gotten a crush on me, but it wouldn’t be the first time I lost out to my sister in the dating department.”

“So she was interested in girls too?”

“Ha, no. It was a guy. I had a crush and he went for her instead.”

“I find it hard to believe anyone has ever not chosen you when you were interested in them,” Ava replied. 

“Yeah, well, when you’re a lowly eighth grader and your sister is in the same grade as the guy you’re crushing on and they’re both in high school...”

“Still...did he see you? Because...” Ava gestures up and down Sara’s body and Sara laughed. 

“You’re cute when you’re being defensive of me,” she said, leaning in for a kiss. 

The kiss lingered and Ava felt Sara’s hand sliding back under her shirt. Ava moved closer to Sara, slipping her fingers through Sara’s hair. Ava deepened the kiss, her tongue flitting into Sara’s willing mouth.  

“Mmm...talking,” Sara murmured, moving away reluctantly. 

“Right. Talking,” Ava echoed. Or kissing. More kissing would be good. She was strong and independent. It didn’t matter if she slept with Sara on the first date. That was her business. She didn’t need society’s expectations weighing in on her consciousness right now. 

She was about to move in for another kiss when Sara said, “I like that I can actually talk to you. I’ve dated...probably more than my fair share of people, but there haven’t been a lot that I could really talk to like this. It’s nice.”

Or talking. Talking was good too, Ava decided. For now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some kisses, some friendly teasing, and some adjusting to actually dating Sara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, 22 comments overnight?? Whaaat??? I'm blown away by your continued feedback! Seriously. I don't think you know how happy it makes me to know that you guys like this story enough to push the little button and write a little something. I carved out some computer time for a different reason today (at the expense of my living room floor's cleanliness, but oh well), and the twins napped extra well, so here's a new chapter already as my thanks!
> 
> (Sidenote: I'm in trouble when I've caught up posting to what I'm writing because the gaps between chapters are gonna be so much longer. Sorry.)

Ava was vaguely aware of shallow breathing beside her. It grew heavier and unsteady as consciousness tugged at Ava’s mind. 

A small whimper prompted Ava to open her eyes. 

It took her eyes a moment to adjust and her brain another few moments to process, but when Sara whimpered next, it clicked in Ava’s head that Sara was having a nightmare. 

“Sara?” she mumbled sleepily, attempting to prop herself up. Her brain was alarmed, but her body still felt weighed down by sleep. 

She shook her head and tried again. This time she managed to prop herself up on her elbow. She was reaching out to touch Sara’s arm when she noticed the way Sara’s hands were balled into fists. 

“Laurel!” Sara shouted. 

Ava’s heart ached for her as she thought about what Sara might be dreaming about her sister and how Laurel would never be able to answer Sara’s call for her. 

“Sara,” she tried again, louder, surer of herself. 

She was answered by another whimper.

“Sara,” she said again, putting a firm hand on Sara’s wrist. 

Sara bolted upright with a sharp cry. For a moment her eyes were wild and her expression confused. She was panting hard. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You were having a nightmare,” Ava soothed, sitting up beside her and rubbing a calming hand over her arm. 

Sara took her hand and looked at it for a second. Her breathing slowed and she laced her fingers through Ava’s. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Ava assured her. 

Sara let go of Ava’s hand and tucked her knees under her chin, hugging her arms around them so she was a small ball. 

Ava realized that her whole body was shaking. “Want to talk about it?” she offered. 

Sara shook her head. 

Ava scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Sara’s shoulders, just holding her.

Soon Sara’s shaking stopped. 

“Sorry,” Sara muttered again. 

“Was it about Laurel?” Ava asked. 

“It’s always about Laurel,” Sara replied, staring straight ahead.

She made a move to lie down and Ava moved her arm so that she could, then laid back down beside her. They lay there in silence, Ava unsure of how to best respond. In the end, she reached out and found Sara’s hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“Do you have nightmares often?” she dared to ask after a while. 

Sara pulled her hand out of Ava’s and turned away with a shrug. 

“Hey, don’t do that. It’s not...There’s nothing wrong with nightmares. I mean they suck, so there’s that. I have this recurring one where I haven’t studied for any of my tests or even shown up for class and it’s final exam day and I’m failing and for some reason sometimes the exams are all in French no matter what the subject.”

Sara laughed and rolled back to look at her with a small smile. “You would.”

Ava grinned, then turned serious again. “They happen a lot, don’t they?”

Sara shrugged again and looked at the ceiling. “Every night.”

Ava frowned. That meant that Sara had woken up alone in a strange room from a nightmare while she’d stayed at her house. She shouldn’t have to do that. Ever. 

Ava rolled onto her side, and wrapped an arm around Sara, pulling her close. She wasn’t alone tonight and Ava wanted to make sure she knew that.

Sara put her arm over Ava’s and intertwined their fingers. “Guess I’m blowing up that cool, sexy idea of me in your head,” Sara muttered, playing with Ava’s fingers. 

“Not really,” Ava replied. “You’re still cool and definitely still sexy.”

Sara gave her a surprised look. 

“What?” Ava asked. 

“You just called me sexy,” Sara said with a smirk. 

“I feel like that’s not actually news,” Ava replied. 

“I’m 100% sure that you have never admitted that you thought that,” Sara countered. 

“Well, now I have,” Ava said. She leaned in and stole a quick kiss in the hopes that the subject would be forgotten. 

Sara looked at her when they broke apart, like she was studying her. “I’m sorry I woke you up,” she finally said. 

Ava nuzzled closer to Sara. “I’m not.”

“Now you know why I haven’t really done any sleepovers since Laurel died. Jax and Zari don’t count. They get it. We’re the dead relatives club.”

Ava hadn’t really thought about that, but she supposed it was true. Jax’s dad had died right after he was born, Ava knew. Then Zari had lost her brother and Sara her sister. Their friendship made even more sense now. 

“That’s jolly,” Ava commented dryly. 

“Super,” Sara agreed. 

“Wait...I’m your first overnight since...?”

“Don’t get a big head,” Sara muttered, turning her head away. 

It took Ava a moment to realize that Sara was embarrassed. “So you haven’t...like with ANYONE since you got here?”

“You do know that overnights are not a requirement for sex, right?”

Ava didn’t like the way her stomach twisted in knots. “Right,” she murmured. 

“Nothing serious, if it helps,” Sara added. 

“Right. I mean, I’d heard that you’d dated John Constantine in like January or something. Not that I cared or was interested in that gossip, but -“

“It wasn’t dating so much as a few hookups and it wasn’t worth the rumor mills,” Sara assured her. “You’re cute when you’re jealous, though.”

“I’m not- I wasn’t-“

Sara kissed her, tenderly at first, but it deepened quickly. 

Ava wrapped her arm possessively tighter around Sara’s waist. 

“Not jealous, huh?”

“Shut up,” Ava muttered, kissing her again.

They broke apart a few minutes later and Sara snuggled into Ava in a way that made all of Ava’s jealousy melt away. 

“Thanks for distracting me,” Sara murmured after a while when Ava almost thought that perhaps she’d fallen back asleep. 

“Anytime,” Ava replied, meaning the word sincerely. 

“Goodnight,” Sara sighed, sounding half asleep already. 

“Sweet dreams,” Ava wished her. Please, she added silently to whatever deity or universal power might be listening.

  
  
  


Ava woke up feeling discombobulated. Her pillow didn’t feel like her pillow. It was harder. She blinked at the room as the fog of sleep clung to her vision. It didn’t look like her room. There was a weight across her side that she wasn’t used to. And the sheets...they didn’t smell like her. They smelled like....

Ava’s eyes shot open as she remembered where she was and, more importantly, who she was with. 

_ I’m in Sara Lance’s bed _ , she reminded herself.  _ With Sara Lance.  _

She turned over slowly and carefully, trying not to disturb Sara as she did so. 

She didn’t succeed. 

Sara blinked at her and smiled. “Morning, Sunshine,” she said, her voice a bit hoarse and croaky. 

The sound was way too sexy in Ava’s opinion, not that she was about to admit that. “Morning,” she replied.

The unfamiliar weight across her waist turned out to be Sara’s arm, and it slid tighter around her as Sara moved in for a kiss. 

It hadn’t been a dream. She was really dating Sara Lance. Or she’d been on a date with her at least. And spent the night with her. In her room.  And apparently she was the first girl to do that in this room. 

“I was right yesterday,” Sara mumbled, kissing her way down Ava’s throat.

“Mmm? About what?”

“That next time you were in my room I’d get you in my bed.”

Ava laughed. “I’m pretty sure you said near.”

“I’m pretty sure I meant in, but with less clothing than you’re currently wearing,” Sara countered. “Then again, I didn’t realize how soon I’d get you back in here,” Sara said, moving back to kiss her lips again. 

“Are you planning on undressing me?” Ava asked, half hoping the answer would be yes, half knowing it would be too soon. 

Sara pulled back and gave her a sly look. “At some point in time, hopefully,” she replied. 

A shiver of excitement ran through Ava, and Sara smirked. 

Ava kissed the smirk off her face, and got lost in her touch for a few minutes before Sara pulled away again. 

“Would you like some breakfast?”

“Do you remember yesterday when you had nothing to feed me but pancakes? And then we ate those?”

“You make an alarming point,” Sara replied. “Do you think it’s stopped snowing?” 

Ava shrugged. “Hard to tell.”

“So it’s possible that we’re snowed in without food,” Sara deduced. 

“Possible,” Ava confirmed, her stomach rumbling. 

Sara reached over Ava in a way that made Ava’s breath hitch and grabbed her phone off of the nightstand.

She sent off a quick text then reached back across Ava, setting her phone back down. “With any luck breakfast will be delivered,” she informed her. 

Ava was going to ask follow up questions, but Sara, rather than rolling back onto her side of the bed, stayed where she was, looking down at Ava. 

Ava was struck, not for the first time, by how piercingly beautiful Sara’s eyes were. 

Sara leaned in for a quick kiss, then grinned and rolled the rest of the way on top of Ava. She propped herself up on her arms enough to look down at her for a moment. “We’ve got a little time to kill first, though. Thoughts?”

Ava grinned back.  She wrapped her arms around Sara and reached up for another kiss. “A few.”

  
  
  


“I’ve got cereal and I’ve got milk and I am not your personal delivery service, Lance!”

Ava looked up sheepishly from her glass of water to see Zari putting down a large bag. 

Zaria looked up and noticed Ava. Her face cycled through shock, surprise, and then amusement. “Hi, Ava. How’re you? Besides here in Sara’s house first thing in the morning wearing Sara’s clothes.”

Ava blushed. 

“Thank you,” Sara said emerging from the hall and grabbing the bag from where Zari had set it down. “And it was snowing hard. Lay off.”

Zari looked from Sara to Ava and back. She did not look convinced. “Right, well, I’m glad my car is still in one piece.”

Sara shot Zari a glare. 

“A ‘thanks for letting me use your car for my date’ wouldn’t go amiss,” Zari added. “Wait, she did work out it was really a date, right? What am I saying, of course she did. She slept over.”

“Fully clothed,” Ava supplied, her blush deepening. 

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Sara mumbled under her breath. 

Zari looked from Sara to Ava and back again. “Right, okay, well, I brought over our last box of cereal, so I was planning on breakfasting here, but if you two need alone time or...whatever.”

“No! We’re good. Stay!” Ava exclaimed a little too quickly. 

Sara and Zari both raised eyebrows at her. 

“Ummm...except it’s your house, so if you want,” Ava deferred to Sara. 

“Mi casa es su casa,” Sara said. 

“You didn’t christen my car, right?” Zari asked, heading into the kitchen behind Sara. 

Ava turned bright red. “No!”

“Okay, okay. Just checking that I don’t have to set it on fire.”

Sara handed Zari a bowl and rolled her eyes.

“Still waiting on that thanks,” Zari muttered, pulling out her phone and typing something into it as Sara handed Ava a bowl and a spoon. 

“Thank you dearest Zari for lending me your car so that I could take this really sexy girl on a date,” Sara said in an exaggerated way. 

Zari made a gagging noise as Ava blushed a deeper shade of red. “Ew gross. Keep your mushiness away from me.”

Sara gave Ava a kiss on the cheek as she reached past her for the box of cereal. “No can do.”

“Blah,” Zari muttered, holding out her bowl. 

Sara poured cereal first into Zari’s bowl, then Ava’s, then her own. She shrugged as if Zari’s comments didn’t faze her. 

“So when’s Quentin due home?” Zari asked. 

Sara shrugged. “With the weather all bets are off.”

Ava tried not be jealous at the level of familiarity between the two friends. There was nothing romantic there, it was clear, but there was an ease to their interactions that she couldn’t help be envious of. 

“You don’t say much, do you?” Zari said, nodding to Ava as she poured milk into her bowl.

“I...didn’t have anything to add?”

Zari looked from Ava to Sara with a questioning look. 

“Let the girl enjoy her breakfast,” Sara said. 

“Okay.  Sorry!” Zari held up an appeasing hand as she took a big bite of cereal. 

Sara scooted closer to Ava and bumped her hip against hers. Ava looked up from her bowl of cereal to see Sara smiling at her in a sympathetic way. Ava smiled back. 

Before Ava could take a bite of cereal, the doorbell rang. 

Sara’s brows furrowed and Ava looked at her in surprise. 

“I’ll get it,” Zari said hurriedly, setting down her bowl and rushing to the door. 

“In my house?” Sara called after her. 

A sheepish-looking Amaya stepped into Sara’s living room as Zari shut the door behind her. “Zari said...I hope it’s okay that I’m here,” Amaya said with a small wave to Sara. 

“Ummm...yeah. Hi. Come on in. Grab a bowl,” Sara invited before turning a hard stare on Zari. 

Zari attempted to look innocent. “I might have texted saying that Ava was still here so she should come if she wasn’t home yet,” Zari said.

“Wait you stayed at Zari’s last night?” Ava asked. 

“You stayed at Sara’s after your date?” Amaya shot back. 

“The weather was bad,” Ava muttered self-consciously. 

“Exactly,” Amaya said.

“I’m sorry, I thought you have family in town. Isn’t that why I couldn’t stay with you Thursday night?” Sara demanded, rounding on Zari again. 

Zari looked at the ceiling. “They might not be arriving until next week...”

Sara smacked Zari’s arm. 

“Ow! Don’t blame me! That one wanted to play matchmaker!” Zari pointed an accusing finger at Amaya. “I just got dragged into it unwillingly.”

“You were all for it as long as you didn’t have to see them be all sappy, or so you said,” Amaya countered. 

“I told you they were conspiring against us,” Ava said. 

“More like conspiring for you, really,” Amaya contradicted.

“They’re claiming they didn’t sleep together,” Zari informed Amaya. 

“Technically we did, just not in the way you mean,” Ava interjected. 

Amaya nodded. “I’d believe it. Ava’s pretty honest about that sort of thing.”

“Pretty honest?” Ava inquired, wondering when she had ever been anything other than entirely honest on that front. She had called Amaya the morning after she’d lost her virginity to Emily Lyon to talk to her about it. 

“I just meant we should believe you,” Amaya soothed. “But you did share a bed?” Her raised eyebrow asked more questions than her voice had, and Ava found herself blushing once again. 

“They don’t have a guest room,” Ava mumbled. 

“There’s a couch,” Zari pointed out. 

“I’m not letting my date sleep on the uncomfortable couch,” Sara replied. 

“You could have been chivalrous and taken the couch,” Zari argued. 

“I don’t need chivalry,” Ava declared.

“Besides, it’s harder to make out with someone when you’re not in the same room,” Sara said, bumping her hip against Ava’s again. 

“So not an action-less date,” Amaya concluded. 

Ava shook her head in confirmation. 

“Feel free to spare us the details,” Zari said. 

“Ones like how good a kisser Ava is? Or how soft her hands felt on my side? Or -?”

Zari threw a piece of cereal at Sara. “Gross,” she complained. 

Amaya laughed and gave Ava a look that let her know that SHE wasn’t averse to knowing some details at a later time.

“What happened to Jax?” Ava asked.

“What?” Zari and Sara asked at the same time. 

“Amaya said you and she were taking him out after his meet,” Ava replied. 

“He bailed because of the forecast,” Amaya replied. 

“More like because of Kendra,” Zari said. “She was fawning all over him after the meet.”

Amaya nodded her agreement. 

“Ah, okay,” Ava said, unable to conjure up a mental image of Kendra. 

She glanced at Sara and was surprised to find her giving Zari a curious look.

“So what did you two get up to instead?” Sara asked. 

“Movies, food, sleep. Same thing we’d have done if you weren’t too busy not getting lucky on your date,” Zari replied. 

Ava choked on her bite of cereal and Sara patted her forcefully on the back until she could breathe okay again. 

“I don’t know. I think I got plenty lucky,” Sara replied with a wink at Ava. “Good company, amazing kisses, and waking up to a pretty girl in my bed? Sounds good to me.”

“Ugh. You guys are sickening already. Please break up,” Zari complained. 

Amaya laughed and waved her off. “Not after they actually got together. And so much sooner than we anticipated. Besides, they’re sweet.”

“Nauseating is more like it, but you’re right. Ava didn’t take nearly as  long to figure it out as you thought.”

“Hey!” Ava pouted reproachfully. “First of all, I’m right here. Second of all, I’m not an idiot!”

“No, you’re incredibly smart,” Zari agreed.

“Just not always when it comes to this sort of thing, sweetie,” Amaya said gently, which did nothing to make it less insulting. 

Ava glowered at her. She turned to Sara for a bit of support, but Sara was smirking and clearly trying to hold back a laugh. 

“Don’t pretend like you’re more in touch with your emotions,” Zari said to her. 

“What?” Sara asked, looking innocent. 

“It’s honestly a miracle that you asked her out this soon and you know it,” Zari accused. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sara replied. “I’ve dated like three other people since I moved here.”

“No, you’ve  _ hooked up _ with three other people since you got here. You were not emotionally attached to any of them,” Zari countered. 

Sara looked suddenly self-conscious and stood a little straighter. She shoved a large spoonful of cereal in her mouth. 

Did that mean that Ava was just another in a line of hookups or that she was different? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t dare ask. Especially not with Zari there and Sara looking so uncomfortable.

“ANYWAY, what is everybody up to today?” Sara asked when she’d finished chewing.

“Bugging you,” Zari replied. 

“I thought you were going to show me that game later,” Amaya said. 

“Then hanging with her,” Zari confirmed.

“What about you two?” Amaya asked.

“Well, I assume you’ll be picking my brain about my date at some point today,” Ava said. 

“Sounds right,” Amaya agreed. 

“And I have some homework to do,” Ava added. 

“You are so adorably nerdy,” Sara said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Ava’s ear. 

Ava smiled shyly at her. 

“Ugh, you two are disgustingly cute,” Zari groaned.  

“Feel free to leave, if you don’t want to see it,” Sara invited. 

“Who brought you breakfast?” Zari countered. 

Sara blew her a kiss and Zari rolled her eyes. 

“What about you, Sara? What’re your plans?” Amaya asked, an amused smile on her face. 

“Apparently I’m being bothered by Zari -“

“You love and appreciate me,” Zari interjected and Sara waved the comment away. 

“And then I’m pretty sure I’m going to go steal Ava away from her riveting homework for a second date.”

Ava’s eyes went wide. “You are?”

“If you’re interested, that is?”

“Very interested,” Ava confirmed, her heart racing. 

“Good,” Sara said with a smile before leaning in and stealing a kiss.

“Get a room,” Zari muttered, reminding Ava that they had an audience. 

She blushed and pulled away, only to see Amaya setting down her bowl of cereal and going to Zari and giving her a little nudge. 

Amaya murmured something to her that Ava couldn’t make out, and Zari rolled her eyes, but nodded. 

Ava and Sara exchanged a look that told Ava that Sara hadn’t heard the exchange either.

“Oh, and I should probably go grocery shopping so I don’t starve to death,” Sara added after a monent’s thought. “So, Zari, you get to take me to the store while you bug me.”

“Oh joy.”

“Ava do you want a ride home?” Amaya asked. 

Ava looked down at her empty bowl of cereal and then at Sara. She didn’t really want to leave but she probably should. 

“Yeah, sure. Thanks. Just let me get my clothes from last night,” Ava replied. 

“I’ll help,” Sara volunteered. 

Ava didn’t really need the help, but she didn’t turn it down either. Sara followed her down the hall, and as soon as they were in her room, she pinned Ava against the wall in a deep kiss.

“Sorry my best friend’s kind of an ass,” Sara murmured, moving to kiss her way down Ava’s throat. 

Ava’s head tilted back to give her better access and a small moan escaped her lips. “It’s fine,” she gasped. “She’s entertaining.”

Sara kissed across her collarbone as her hands traced up Ava’s sides. 

Ava brought a hand up and threaded her fingers through Sara’s hair. 

Sara moved back to kiss her on the lips again and Ava responded eagerly. 

“Are you guys coming back?” Zari called from the living room and they broke apart panting. 

Ava blushed, and Sara murmured, “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

Ava wanted to say that there was nothing to apologize for, but Sara had turned away, located the neat pile of Ava’s clothes that she’d folded the night before, and handed them to her. 

“Thanks,” Ava said, suddenly feeling shy as if she hadn’t just had her tongue in Sara’s mouth. 

“So I’ll see you later? I don’t know if I’ll have a car or not, but we can text about plans?”

Ava nodded. “Later.” She leaned in quickly for one last kiss, then made her way back to the living room. 

“Ready?” Amaya asked, pushing off of where she’d been leaning against the back of the couch next to Zari. 

Ava nodded confirmation, looked back at Sara with a small wave, nodded to Zari and headed for the door. 

Tonight, she told herself, I’d better not sleep over. She wasn’t sure she trusted herself to behave if she did.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaya drops some knowledge, Sara has no chill, and Ava tries to get some homework done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes out to the lovely francoamerican in honor of her birthday! Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> As always, thank you all for your feedback! It's always interesting to hear what people think, or how a certain scene is being interpreted.

“Soooo?” Amaya prompted. 

Ava played innocent. “So?” she echoed. 

“Don’t you play innocent with me, young lady,” Amaya said. 

Ava sighed. “What do you want to know?”

“You went on a date with Sara Lance. You SLEPT OVER with Sara Lance. I want to know EVERYTHING.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “You’re making it sound a lot more salacious than it was.”

“Well, if you TOLD me about it, I’d know exactly how salacious to make it sound,” Amaya replied. “Start with how long it took you to realize I was right about the nature of the date?”

“Too long,” Ava admitted.

“I did try to tell you,” Amaya said. 

“I know, I know. I just seemed so...improbable.”

Amaya frowned at her. “It seemed improbable that a girl who kept flirting with you and spent all day with you had asked you on a real date? What has happened to your self-confidence? Love yourself, Ava!”

Ava laughed and rolled her eyes. “I have self-confidence. It just...it lies in me knowing I’m going to get at least a 4 on my World and US history APs. It’s harder to have about things like the hottest girl to ever walk the halls at school wanting to date me.”

Amaya smirked.

“What?” Ava demanded. 

“The hottest girl to ever walk the halls, huh?” Amaya teased and Ava blushed. 

“Well, she is.”

“And she IS interested in dating you.”

Ava nodded. “Apparently. For now anyway.”

Amaya frowned again. “For now?”

“You heard her and Zari. She hooks up with people. She dates them for a short time and moves on. She’s not looking for serious connections. And, okay, I get it, we’re just in high school, but I’m not the type of girl who can hook up with someone without emotions.”

“I think you heard a different conversation than I did,” Amaya countered.

“What did you hear, then?” Ava asked as Amaya pulled to a stop in front of her house and turned her full attention on Ava. 

“I heard the conversation where it was heavily implied that you’re the first person Sara’s wanted to really date and actually found a meaningful connection with in a romantic kind of way since she moved here.”

Ava looked skeptical. She shook her head and opened the car door. 

She heard Amaya sigh behind her as she got out, and then Amaya got out of the car, too, and followed her to her house. 

“Does it seem like you’re just another fling when you’re with her?” Amaya asked as Ava opened her front door and stepped inside. 

“Oh, good. You’re home!” her mother said, walking in from the kitchen. She pulled Ava into a hug and then hugged Amaya too. 

“I’m so glad you girls didn’t decide to drive any further last night. It was a good idea to stay at Sara’s. Did you girls have fun at the sleepover?” 

Amaya and Ava exchanged a look, and Ava prayed that Amaya remembered the lie she’d told her mother the night before about the group outing. She needn’t have worried. 

“It was a lot of fun. Thanks, Mrs. S.”

Ava grabbed Amaya’s hand and tugged her towards the stairs. “We’re just gonna do some homework, Mom!” Ava called over her shoulder before her mom could decide to ask anymore questions. 

“Oh. Ok!” her mother called after them.

“Speaking of sleepovers...” Amaya said once they were in the safety of Ava’s room. 

“We just slept.”

“I’m pretty sure I heard something about making out...” Amaya countered. 

“We made out and we slept,” Ava confirmed with a blush. “And possibly there was a brief makeout where we didn’t have shirts on?” she added sheepishly. 

“You what? Why, Ava Sharpe, that sounds far more salacious than you led me to believe.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “It was...Okay, she’s like really hot, and when she’s near me, I don’t think my brain works properly. She offered to help me take my bra off and I almost said the hell with it and slept with her.”

Amaya’s jaw dropped. 

“She...DID she help you take your bra off??” Amaya asked. 

“No!” 

Amaya raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Okay, I was very tempted by the offer, but it wasn’t like she really-“   
“If the last two words of your sentence are ‘meant it’ I might have to hit you,” Amaya warned. 

“She made a big point about NOT expecting sex from me last night,” Ava explained. 

“You know, you’re right. That definitely sounds like someone who just wants to hook up with you and move on quickly. Between that and wanting a second date the day after the first...it’s no wonder you got the impression you did!”

Ava smacked Amaya on the arm and huffed. “Shut up.”

“Hey, you were the one being ridiculous about it.”

“I’m still adjusting to the idea that Sara really...I mean...Have you seen her?” Ava flopped back on her bed with a sigh. “She’s stunningly gorgeous with that hair and those lips and, god, her eyes, Amaya. Have you ever seen such dazzling blue eyes? And those muscles. Seriously you should see her without a shirt on because holy crap does she have muscles. Like yours and then some. I don’t know what she does to work out, but I am NOT complaining. And she’s cool and she’s smart but not really nerdy like me and  she’s got this smirk that just...I dunno.”

Amaya patted her leg comfortingly. “You’ve got it bad, honey.”

“I don’t WANT to have it bad,” Ava sighed.

“That’s silly. You feel what you feel, Ava,” Amaya said, lying back on the bed beside her and giving her a sympathetic look. 

“Yeah, but I mean this crush has gone from nonexistent to ridiculous in two seconds flat and, like, okay MAYBE she DOES want to date me and not just have a quick fling, but there’s no way she has fallen this stupidly hard for me this fast, and I don’t like the unevenness of that.”

Amaya considered Ava’s words for a minute. “Would you like me to point out all of the problems with what you just said? Or are you going to work them out yourself?” she finally replied. 

Ava glared. 

“Sweetie, you can’t control how other people feel and maybe you’re right that she hasn’t fallen as hard and fast, but she DOES seem to genuinely like you, and if you’re so caught up in worrying about how much you may miss out of the fun of discovering it.”

Ava hated how much sense Amaya made. 

“As for your crush...I’m pretty sure it started the second you saw her, it’s just you’ve finally given yourself permission to have it,” Amaya added. 

Ava sat up and glared at Amaya. “What? How could you say that?”

Amaya sat up and chuckled. “How about because you’d complain multiple times a week about her when you didn’t even know her? She was occupying your thoughts so much because you were drawn to her.”

“Or she just really annoyed me,” Ava countered. 

“Sure. I always make out with people who really annoy me. I don’t...try to avoid and forget them.  Nope.”

“I hate you,” Ava informed her before flopping back on her bed again. 

Amaya laughed. “You wish you hated me.”

Amaya laid back down next to her again and then they shared and amiable silence. 

After a few minutes, Amaya said, “Ava, why all of the sudden doubt? You seemed sure enough when she was kissing you in her kitchen.”

Ava shrugged. “I don’t know. When I’m with her it’s different. I’m just wrapped up in...her. Her touches and smirks and flirty looks. But now that I’m home in the same old room I’ve always had with my color-coded folders waiting to be opened so I can do my homework like I do every day...It sounds crazy. I mean when she sat next to me in physics the first day? You should have seen the looks of surprise.”

“Or jealousy,” Amaya countered. 

“Maybe a few,” Ava admitted. “But, come on! Even you were surprised when you found out.”

“I was surprised you hadn’t told me, not that it had happened,” Amaya contradicted her. 

“Yeah, well...Doesn’t it sound at all strange to you? Ava Sharpe dating Sara Lance?”

“No. Now stop stressing and go back to telling me the juicy details from Ava Sharpe and Sara Lance’s first date.”

Ava laughed. “Okay, fine.”

  
  
  


_ How long until you’ll let me steal you from your homework? _

Ava laughed when she saw the text. She looked down at the calculus problems she was working on. It wouldn’t be too long before she’d be done with this homework and the paper she was going to start after it wasn’t actually due until Thursday.

_ Half an hour? _ she texted back. 

_ What if I said I was already outside your house because Zari ditched me for Amaya and I was bored and thinking about kissing you?  _

Ava felt her cheeks flush. She debated her response for a minute. She really did want to get the calc out of the way so she could relax on Sunday. But kissing Sara…

_ Then, I guess I should invite you up. _

The doorbell rang a minute later  when Ava was still heading down the stairs and her mom beat her to the door. 

“Well, hi, Sara! So nice to see you again so soon. I hear you girls had a fun sleepover last night! Must have been quite the party!”

“Hi, Mrs. Sharpe,” Sara said, looking a bit surprised until she caught Ava’s eye over her mom’s shoulder. 

Ava gave her a panicked shake of her head. 

“Uh, yeah, we had a great time!”

“I’m so glad. It’s so nice that Ava is broadening her circle of friends. You know sometimes she gets a little too focussed on her academics.”

Ava groaned and rolled her eyes. “Mooom!”

Sara shot her a grin. “You don’t say,” she replied to Ava’s mom.    
“Will you be staying for dinner again, dear?”    
“We’re going out!” Ava answered for her. “Another group thing.”   
“Oh, well, good,” her mother replied, though Ava could tell that she was slightly more suspicious now.    
“Aaanyway, we’re going to go work on our physics project now. Come on, Sara.” Ava grabbed Sara’s hands and dragged her up the stairs and into her room, firmly closing the door behind them.    
As soon as she’d done that, Sara pinned her against it in a kiss.

“I think your mom likes me,” Sara murmured into Ava’s mouth.  

“Please don’t talk about my mom while we’re making out.”

Sara chuckled against her lips.

Ava slid her hand around to Sara’s back, pulling her closer against her, feeling the weight of Sara’s body pressed against hers. A small moan escaped her lips as Sara’s lips kissed at her pulse point. 

“Mmm,” Sara hummed against her throat. “Maybe we should actually move AWAY from the door.”

  Ava didn’t want to stop kissing Sara, but she had to agree it was a good idea. She did NOT want one of her parents walking past and hearing any suspect sounds and deciding to investigate. She did NOT want to lose the privilege of having Sara in her room with the door shut. 

“Fine,” she muttered as Sara pulled away. 

She took Ava’s hands and walked backwards towards Ava’s bed, looking at Ava with a sultry smile. 

Ava bit her lower lip as she let herself be led across her room, feeling her heart race faster with each step closer to her bed. 

“Hi, by the way,” Sara said. 

“Hi,” Ava echoed with a shy smile, ducking her head as her cheeks flushed. 

Could she really make out with Sara on her bed and control herself? It didn’t matter that her parents were home and they’d only been on one real date, she WANTED Sara. It was like her body was craving her, the way it responded to even the smallest touch. 

“You know, I was actually hoping to finish my calc homework before our date,” she confessed before they reached her bed. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her, but dropped her hands and gestured towards Ava’s desk.    
“Don’t let me stop you.”

Ava hesitated. “You’re sure?” 

Sara sat down on Ava’s bed and nodded. 

Ava looked at her desk, then back at Sara. Sara looked so much more inviting. She started to move to Sara on her bed, but Sara shook her head and wagged her finger at her. 

“Ah ah ah! I am not going to be responsible for a decline in your academic standards, young lady. Do your work. Make out with me later. In fact, when you’re done with your homework, you can do whatever you like with me,” Sara said with a wink and a lip bite that made Ava’s mind immediately go to places it shouldn’t if she was really about to do homework. 

“That’s evil,” she accused, reluctantly sitting down at her desk.

Sara grinned. “I don’t know. I think it’s kind of a good offer.”

Ava groaned as she tore her eyes away from Sara and back to her textbook. 

It was hard focusing on the problems on the page with Sara so close. 

She looked up when Sara stood up. She tried not to notice the way Sara’s fingers dragged along the spines of the books on her bookshelf when she glanced up from her notebook. 

She really tried hard not to focus on the way Sara’s shirt rode up, showing off some bare skin, as she lay on her bed, reading.    
Ava shook her head, blinked hard and refocused on her homework.

She forced herself to finish five more problems before she looked up again. When she did, Sara was looking at her with a smile on her face. 

“What?” Ava asked self-consciously. 

“Do you know you bite your lip when you’re focusing really hard? Always on the right side.”

“Do I?” Ava asked, blushing. 

Sara nodded. 

“Oh.”

She turned back to her homework and did another question, and when she looked back at Sara, she was still watching her. 

“Seriously, what?”

“Nothing. You’re just cute when you do homework,” Sara replied, turning her eyes back to the book she’d started.

Ava watched her for a minute, and when Sara glanced up again and their eyes met, they laughed shyly.

“You’re watching me do homework. Are you that bored? I don’t have that much more to do.”

“No, I’m not bored at all,” Sara replied. 

“Really?” Ava asked skeptically. 

“Really!” Sara confirmed. “I’ve got a good book and a hot girl. Why would I be bored? Besides, maybe I’m imagining all the things we could be doing when you’re done with your homework.”

Ava’s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. “What?”

“You know, like where we can go on our date and stuff,” Sara said with a smile that made Ava very much doubt that that was the type of thing she had in fact been thinking about. 

“Right, sure,” she said, narrowing her eyes to study Sara’s face. 

It was like studying a wall. A really attractive wall. A stunningly beautiful wall that could stare straight back at her with an intensity that made her squirm. Okay, maybe it wasn’t like studying a wall at all, but a wall would have given her just as much information. 

“Anyway, I’m distracting you. Don’t worry, I’ll read, you work.” 

Sara’s eyes turned back to the book in front of her. Ava watched her for another minute, but Sara seemed genuinely involved in the book, so in the end she turned back to her calculus homework.

  
  
  


“Done!” she declared after way too long. It wasn’t her fault that her mind had kept wandering. She had been perfectly content to think about integrals before Sara had shown up and distracted her. 

“Hooray,” Sara replied, closing her book and sitting up in Ava’s bed. She scooted to the edge, and reached out for Ava. “C’mere,” she coaxed. 

Ava only hesitated for a second. She would be able to control herself. She was a smart girl with good self-control. It’d be fine. 

Sara took her hands as she reached the bed and tugged her forward. 

Ava leaned down and captured Sara’s lips with her own, but Sara tugged again, as they kissed, and before Ava’s brain fully realized what was happening, she’d climbed onto her bed, straddling Sara’s lap, and was full on making out with her. 

Sara smiled against her lips. “That’s better,” she murmured, letting go of Ava’s hands in favor of sliding her hands around Ava, settling them on the back of her hips, fingers grazing along the top of her jeans. 

Ava let out a small moan as she felt a small portion of her self-control slip away. 

How was Sara able to unravel her so quickly?

Ava wrapped one arm around Sara’s body and cupped Sara’s cheek with her other hand, relishing in the kiss. 

Sara’s fingers slid down over Ava’s ass, and Ava’s breath caught in her throat. 

“Okay?” Sara asked, breathless. How could Sara ask her that? How would this NOT be okay? She nodded enthusiastically and kissed her again. 

In a smooth movement that Ava was sure she wouldn’t be able to do with years of practice, Sara rolled and flipped them, so that Ava was on her back with Sara laying on top of her. Ava let out another moan as she wrapped her legs around Sara instinctively, and Sara pressed down into her.

“Still okay?” Sara asked, pulling back just enough to look Ava in the eyes. 

Once again Ava could only nod, pulling Sara back down for more kisses.

Ava let her hands explore Sara’s back, finding the hem of her shirt and sliding them up under it. She could feel Sara’s muscles as they tensed and moved, and she wanted to feel more. She began to slide Sara’s shirt up, but Sara broke their kiss and looked down at her in surprise.

“What?” Ava asked, looking from Sara’s eyes to her lips and back. She really just wanted to be kissing her again. 

“Don’t you think...It’s just your mom and dad are downstairs, Sunshine, and we haven’t actually gone on our second date yet.”

Ava stared up at her waiting for her words to make sense. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t be undressing each other?”

Ava registered Sara’s words and where her hands were and her eyes went wide. So much for her self-control. Sara had more self-control than she’d thought. Or maybe she’d just decided that she didn’t actually want to sleep with Ava. 

“Right, yeah,” she murmured, pulling her hands out from under Sara’s shirt. 

Sara kissed her again. “Much as I’m looking forward to actually undressing you at some point,” she assured her as she pulled away and climbed off of Ava. “I just don’t want to rush it.”

“I never thought of you much as the waiting type,” Ava confessed sheepishly. 

Sara laughed. “Rude.”

“I didn’t mean I think you’re slutty! I just...you seem...sexually liberated.”

Sara laughed again. “That’s one way to put it. Maybe I just think some people are worth waiting for.” She shot Ava a smile that made her feel weak at the knees.

“So, where should we go on our date?” Sara asked. “Since we’ve just ruled out your bed as the destination.”

“Your bed?” Ava suggested before she could think better of it. 

Sara’s eyes went wide and then she grinned at Ava. “You know, you keep surprising me.”

Ava smiled a little triumphantly at that. If Sara was even a fraction of the amount thrown by her as she was thrown by Sara, then she was okay with it.

“Maybe my bed can be the last stop on our date, but I feel like we should have an actual second date first,” Sara suggested. 

Ava’s heart skipped a beat at the idea that she might end up in Sara’s bed tonight. She knew what it might very well lead to. “Right, well, we could...ummmm...” They just went to dinner last night. Besides, it was too early to go to dinner now. They could go to a movie, but that wouldn’t give them much of an opportunity to talk. Why couldn’t she think of anything else? There were other things to do on a date but she couldn’t think of what they were. Maybe Sara had short-circuited her brain.

“Okay, I don’t actually have any brilliant ideas,” Ava confessed. 

“I find that hard to believe with a brain like yours,” Sara replied with a wink. 

Ava laughed. “I meant about our date.”

“Ah, well, that makes two of us. My brain seems stuck on tearing your clothes off for some reason.”

“You just say stuff like that to make me blush, don’t you?” Ava demanded, fully aware that she was doing just that. 

Sara grinned. “That is just a perk.”

“Well, what do you like to do?”

“Besides homework?” Ava asked. 

“You LIKE doing homework?”

Ava blushed deeper. “Sometimes?”

“You’re such a nerd,” Sara said, bopping her on the nose affectionately. “Yes, besides homework.”

“You’re going to laugh.”

“Why would I laugh?” Sara asked. 

“Because it’s something people wouldn’t expect from me.”

“I’m not people.”

Ava hesitated. Only Amaya knew this about her, and it was only because she’d gotten her into it in the first place. It wasn’t even like it’d make a good date activity. 

“I promise not to laugh,” Sara said, taking her hand. 

Okay, then. “Taekwondo.”

Sara didn’t laugh. She didn’t even smirk. Instead, she looked interested. “Really?”

“Amaya got me into it when we were little. She diversified. I stuck with it.”

“I’ve seen her in action. She’s badass.” Sara bit her lip and studied Ava for a moment. “Are you secretly badass, Ava Sharpe?”

Ava blushed. “I don’t know that I’d say that, but I AM a third degree black belt.”

“I have kind of...an unusual idea...If you’re down with it.”

Ava raised a curious eyebrow and waited for Sara to continue. 

“Okay, you know that clock tower I mentioned the other day?”

Ava nodded, remembering Sara’s suggestion that she could sleep there from the night she’d first stayed over. 

“Weeellll...Okay, I’ve trained in a few disciplines myself back west, and I went to the martial arts expo where I saw Amaya’s display looking for somewhere to train here, but in the end I kind of decided to just keep training myself for now, so when I found the space there...I kind of turned it into my own personal training space. I could show it to you...if you’d like?”

“Training space?”

“Yeah, ummm...put on something you can kick some butt in and I’ll show you.”

Ava looked expectantly at Sara. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll avert my eyes,” she said with a grin that made Ava not quite believe her. 

She stood and moved to her dresser and picked out a sports bra, a T-shirt, and some sweatpants. She glanced over her shoulder at Sara, who looked up at the ceiling as if it was inherently fascinating. 

Ava rolled her eyes and shook her head, took a deep breath, and pulled her shirt off. She glanced over her shoulder again, but Sara was now looking at the ceiling in a spot that was in the opposite direction from Ava. 

She could go to the bathroom to finish changing. She SHOULD go to the bathroom to finish changing. She quickly unhooked her bra and as fast as she could tugged her sports bra on. She slid her T-shirt over her head a moment later, then eyed her sweatpants. 

“You know, this is probably the most underdressed for a date I’ve ever been.”

Without looking to check that Sara still wasn’t looking at her, she took a deep breath and slid down her jeans, kicking them off. She practically jumped into the sweatpants, pulling them up. She did her best not to think about how close to naked she’d been in the room with a girl she’d like to actually be completely naked with. 

“Well, it’s not your typical date, really,” Sara replied. “Is it safe to look?”

“Yeah,” Ava confirmed, hating the blush that she knew graced her cheeks even though Sara apparently hadn’t even bothered to sneak a peek.

“Great. Let’s go.” Sara stood, grabbed her by the hand, and led the way.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clock tower date a.k.a. neither of them fights fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are far too quickly catching up to where I'm writing, which is not good for update speed, but hopefully you will all continue to like this story even when you have to wait weeks between updates. :/ This chapter was a little tricky to write (as action scenes often are), so I hope you can all see it in your head as you read the way I did as I wrote it. If you can, I did my job. If not, I'm sorry.

The clock tower turned out to be at the top of the abandoned old city hall building. The space was open and bright in the afternoon sun. In a far corner were some padded mats. To her right stood two training dummies. Against the far wall hung a boxing bag. Along another wall some weapons were hung up: a bo-staff, some small knives, throwing stars, and a compound bow. Wooden rafters climbed up higher into the tower, and Ava noticed, as she moved into the space, that there were small additions to some sections: handholds here, wooden rungs there with a bar across them, a set of rings in another space. 

“I’ve made some additions. The guy who keeps the clock working said it doesn’t affect any of the mechanisms, so he doesn’t mind me having free reign,” Sara informed her. 

“Where’d you get all this stuff?” Ava asked, impressed. 

“I stumbled upon this gym that was upgrading all its equipment when I first moved to town and I lucked out. They said I could take what I wanted for free. So the dummies, the bag, and the mats came from there. The weapons I’ve accumulated over time. I find them...interesting. And the other stuff I’ve built, piecing together things here and there. It’s a work in progress.” 

“It’s amazing!” Ava declared. She turned to Sara and was surprised to see her looking almost proud, but also oddly self-conscious. “What’s your background in?”

“Well, I have done some taekwondo, actually, but I’ve more studied wing chun and jeet kune do. Minimal movement for maximum effect. Kali, too. I’ve had some staff training and sword training, and my dad taught me to shoot a gun, though that’s definitely not my weapon of choice. And I’ve done some archery. I had a friend...that boy who chose Laurel over me, actually, who was really into archery, and, anyway, I thought maybe it would impress him if I got good at it, too. It turns out it’s just really fun as well.”

“Wow!” Ava breathed out, feeling a little intimidated. That explained Sara’s muscular form. It also painted her in a whole new light. If Ava was being honest with herself, it made Sara even sexier. “Do you train often?”

Sara nodded moving to a series of wood rungs with a bar across it. It took Ava a minute to register it as a salmon ladder. “I come here most nights for a while. I want to be as prepared as possible if Darhk and his men ever find us.”

Ava hadn’t considered that. “Do you think he will?”

“I don’t know. But if he does, I’ll be ready to take him down.”

With that, Sara tugged off her shirt, revealing a black sports bra, easily jumped up to the bar above her, and began jumping it up the salmon ladder. 

All thoughts of Damien Darhk and dead sisters were pushed from Ava’s mind as she watched the beauty that was Sara’s body work.

“Wow!” Ava breathed, doing her best to ignore how incredibly turned on she suddenly was. 

Sara jumped the bar back down and hopped down, landing agilely on the ground with a pleased smile on her face. “Want to try?”

Ava hesitated. She would probably make a fool out of herself. Still, she was curious if she could do it. 

“Come on. I’ve seen those muscles. You’re plenty strong,” Sara coaxed. 

Ava took a deep breath and shrugged. “Why not? What’s the worst that happens? I fall on my face in front of a girl I really like?”

Sara chuckled softly. 

Ava moved to stand under the salmon ladder and looked up at the bar. 

Sara stood behind her and put her hands firmly on her waist. “So, you  _ really _ like me, huh?”

Ava froze. Had she really just said that? She could feel a blush building  in her cheeks. “Umm...well, yeah. I mean, we are on a date, right?”

Sara leaned in close, her hair brushing Ava’s cheek. “Oh, I knew you liked me, but the ‘really’ part is nice to hear.”

Ava tried not to let Sara’s touch and her closeness distract her. She took a deep breath, but the smell of Sara flooded her senses and further distracted her. 

“Ready?” Sara asked. 

No, Ava thought, but she nodded. 

Sara tightened her hold on Ava’s hips slightly, and Ava bent her knees and jumped for the bar, Sara’s hands guiding her up. She caught it easily, not really needing the spot, but not necessarily minding it either.

Ava was aware of Sara stepping back as she looked up at the bar. 

“Keep your arms at an L and use your body to get the momentum. Make sure you use it to go up not forward. You’ve got this.”

Ava nodded and pulled up so her arms were at an L. She tried to focus on her breathing and what her muscles were doing as she swung her body enough to make a small jump. She missed the rung above with the bar and the jerk of it falling back to the first rung made her lose her grip and she peeled off the bar. She mercifully landed on her feet, but she felt embarrassed nonetheless. 

“That was a great first try. My first try didn’t even land back on the first rung. I fell to the floor still holding the bar,” Sara informed her with a kind smile. 

Ava laughed and shook her body out, determined to get at least one rung up. 

She jumped up and tried again. This time one side of the bar landed on the second rung while the other landed back in the first. She managed to hold on, though. 

She tried to jump just the one side up, but instead the other side fell back down. She could already feel the burn in her arms. She dropped back down. 

“Here, watch me. You’re really close.”

Ava moved aside and watched again as Sara jumped up to the bar and easily jumped up and back down. She tried to focus on the way Sara used her body and the way her muscles worked rather than how sexy she looked. She did not do well.

“Try again,” Sara said hopping down. 

It took Ava a second to stop staring at Sara’s abs. “Right, yeah.”

Sara smirked at her, but moved out of the way as Ava stepped back under the bar. 

Ava jumped up, pulled up so her arms were in an L, and did her best to emulate Sara’s body movements. She was so surprised when the bar landed firmly on the second rung that she almost lost her grip, letting her arms fall to fully extended. 

“Nice work!” Sara called from below. 

Ava grinned triumphantly down at her, then got back into position and did another jump. It worked, and this time she kept her form. She tried again, but this time, once again, one side jumped up while the other didn’t, and again, the jerk of the landing made her lose her grip. 

She landed hard and looked up sheepishly at the bar that was now too high to jump for. 

“That was great!” Sara said. 

“Thanks, but sorry about the bar.”

Sara shook her head. “No worries.”

Without a moment’s hesitation she scaled a beam, grabbed, the bar, placed it back on the bottom rung, and did a backflip off of the beam, landing easily on her feet. 

“Okay, show off!” Ava said, though in truth she was more than a little impressed. 

Sara threw her a grin and shrugged. “Couldn’t help myself.” 

“Mhm, I’m sure.” Just because she was impressed, didn’t mean she had to let Sara know that. 

“So, third degree black belt...You’ve done some sparring then?”

Ava nodded. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her. “Well? What do you say? Up for a little sparring? We can compare styles and maybe learn some new tricks along the way?”

Ava eyed the mats then turned back to Sara. “You’re on.”

  
  
  


Sara was good. REALLY good. She kept landing more touches than Ava did, clearly drawing from a wider knowledge base than Ava was. She was careful, every time to make sure none of her blows landed hard enough to hurt, and Ava did the same, but the cocky grin on Sara’s face every time she offered to show Ava a move frustrated her in more way than one. Also, it was really unfair the way that every time Sara got close, Ava got distracted by the fact that she wasn’t wearing a shirt. The thin sheen of sweat they’d worked up only served to accentuate Sara’s muscles, and it made it that much harder for Ava to concentrate.

Then it occurred to her: she could potentially even the playing field. 

She blocked a strike, and landed a crescent kick gently on Sara’s shoulder as she just missed dodging away. As Sara recovered her stance, Ava peeled off her t-shirt, and then turned to face Sara in ready stance, eyes searching her face to see what kind of an impact her decision might have had.

She wasn’t disappointed. Sara’s eyes went wide and trailed down Ava’s body. There was obvious want written on her face, which gave Ava more than a little boost in confidence. 

She struck quickly while Sara was distracted, and didn’t pull back enough, toppling Sara over, but Sara was quick, rolling through her fall so she was instantly back on her feet. 

“Sorry!” Ava said. 

Sara laughed. “Sneaky. You’re good.”

Ava grinned at her and got into ready stance again. They circled each other, keeping moving, a little forward here, a little backward there, trying to anticipate the next attack. Sara moved in, but Ava blocked her and countered, pushing Sara back slightly, but Sara grabbed her and pulled as she was pushed back, knocking Ava off-balance. The move was so unexpected that she toppled forward into Sara and they both fell over. Before Ava could recover, Sara kept the momentum moving until she’d flipped them, ending up on top of Ava and pinning her. 

Sara sat up triumphantly, her legs straddling Ava’s waist. “I think I win this round.”

Ava looked up at Sara’s body, glistening from sweat, her muscles highlighted by the late afternoon sunlight, her blonde hair, messy with strands stuck to her forehead by sweat, shining as it caught a ray of light, her piercing blue eyes bright and daring. Ava’s pulse quickened and she licked her lips. “I don’t know. It kind of feels like I won,” she replied, sliding her hands up Sara’s legs and settling them on her hips. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her. Her expression read somewhere between surprised and intrigued.

“Besides, who said this round is done?” Ava asked, flipping them again in a move that went a lot smoother than she anticipated. It left her looking down at Sara, their bodies pressed together, her hips between Sara’s legs. She couldn’t help herself. She kissed Sara hungrily, putting more weight on her as she ran a hand over Sara’s muscular stomach. 

Sara answered with just as much hunger, kissing her back and running her hands over Ava’s back. 

Ava bucked her hips slightly and was rewarded with a low moan from Sara. 

“I’m pretty sure this is cheating,” Sara murmured.

Ava pulled back and grinned at Sara. “So I win this round?”

Sara pulled her back for another kiss. “I don’t know, it kind of feels like I won,” Sara echoed her words from before. 

Ava laughed and rolled off of Sara, not trusting herself to stay where she’d been for much longer without rushing into things she wasn’t a hundred percent sure they should be doing yet. 

“Rematch?” Sara suggested putting her hands back next to her head and pushing off, jumping to her feet. 

That, Ava could do. She followed suit and met Sara’s gaze. There was a challenge there that Ava could tell would be fun to answer. “You’re on.”

  
  
  


Sara proved a fun sparring partner, and not just for the kisses stolen between attacks. The few times their blows landed too hard, they were able to shake it off without making each other feel too guilty. Ava learned to read Sara’s body to anticipate her attacks better, not just to appreciate how sexy she was. Their fighting styles, while different, worked okay, and Sara was always willing to stop and show her something, while Ava was able to give some technique pointers thanks to her intense training in a single discipline. Sara’s freeness helped Ava loosen up and trust her body more while Ava’s rigidness seemed to tighten up Sara’s movements to be more precise. 

“You’re really good,” Sara said, stopping for a drink of water. 

“You are too. You’re making me want to branch out from Taekwondo a little,” Ava admitted. 

“Yeah? Well, you’re making me want to enroll in actual classes again.”

Ava grinned, then took a large swallow of the water that Sara offered her. 

“You know, I’d be happy to show you more moves anytime,” Sara said. 

Ava narrowed her eyes at her, unsure if that had been a suggestive comment or not. 

“I meant in the field of martial arts, but I do appreciate where your mind went just now, Sunshine.”

Ava blushed. “It’s not my fault I’ve come to expect the words that come out of your mouth to come with a sexual innuendo.”

Sara considered that for a moment. “You may have a point,” she conceded. “Have you done much weapon work?” she asked, changing the subject.

Ava nodded. “A bit. Some staff work. Some eskrima sticks. Not too much though.”

“Sounds like next time I bring you here, I should bring the eskrima sticks from my room and we should see how we do sparring with those and a staff,” Sara replied with a wink. 

“You keep weapons in your room?”

“I keep a weapon handy under my bed.”

Ava hesitated before asking her next question. “In case of Darhk?” 

“In case of anything,” Sara replied. “I’ve learned you can’t always expect life to go your way, so no harm having something nearby you can use to help swing things in your favor.”

Ava nodded. 

Sara reached for her bag and dug out her phone to check it and she looked interested when she did. 

“Hey, I know this isn’t necessarily a great date idea, but do you have any interest in a party tonight?”

Ava raised an eyebrow at Sara. “A party?”

“One of the jocks on the team with Jax is throwing one at his house tonight and we’re invited,” Sara informed her, waving her phone between her fingers. 

“We?” Ava asked skeptically. She wasn’t exactly into the high school party scene. Of course, not being into it was fairly easy given that she wasn’t really invited to them ever. 

“Zari says to bring you,” Sara replied. “Sounds like an invite to me.”

“Zari said that?”

Sara held out her phone for Ava to read the text. 

_ Party tonight at Ronnie’s. Bring the girlfriend. I’ll drive. Meet at your house at 8 for pregame. _

“Bring the girlfriend?” Ava read aloud. 

Sara shrugged. 

“I’m your girlfriend?” Ava asked, unable to help the smile that was spreading across her face. 

“I’m definitely not dating anyone else,” Sara replied. 

It might have been Ava’s imagination, but it almost looked like Sara was feeling about sheepish about that.

“So, party? We don’t have to.”

Ava thought about it for a moment. Before she could answer, Sara got another text. 

“Amaya’s going,” Sara informed her. 

“Really?”

“Apparently. So, what do you say?”

“Yeah, okay. Why not?” Ava said with a shrug. Maybe high school parties weren’t her usual scene, but with Sara she was willing to give it a try.

  
  
  


“You’re sure I don’t look silly?” Ava asked, adjusting the low-cut, tight-fitting, silky green top that Sara had picked out of her closet for her to wear. She examined her look in the mirror again and caught Sara’s eyes as she raked them up her body while she stood behind her. 

“I’m sure that you look sexy,” Sara replied, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “I mean, you’d look even better naked on my bed, but since that’s not in the cards tonight...” Sara wiggles her eyebrows at Ava, who blushed. 

She tried not to think about how she’d just been naked in Sara’s shower. She really tried not to think about how close she’d been to asking Sara if she’d wanted to join her in the shower.

Most of all, she tried not to think about how Sara had been very, very naked in the shower just after her. 

“Okay, but the skirt..?” she questioned instead. 

“You’re too tall for my pants. I keep telling you we can make Zari stop by your house before we go so you can grab some jeans or something else you’d be more comfortable in.”   
“But then my mom will ask questions that I so do not want to answer,” Ava countered. She looked at herself in the mirror again. 

“Come on, look at those legs. You should flaunt them,” Sara encouraged.

Ava turned to face Sara, leaning in for a kiss purely because she was so close. 

Sara smiled at her as she pulled away, and Ava took in her look of choice for the evening. 

“Do you have an endless supply of leather pants?” Ava asked, not minding in the slightest if the answer was “yes.”

Sara laughed. “Just the two, but I didn’t mind the way you checked out my ass in them last night, so figured I’d break out this pair tonight.”

Ava blushed. “I didn’t-“   
m

“You definitely did. Before you knew we were on a real date, I might add.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a nice ass,” Ava replied, leaning in for another kiss. 

Sara smiled into the kiss.

“And this?” She slid her hands over the black corset top. “Is this just to drive me crazy?”

“Is it working?” Sara asked, stealing another kiss. 

“Too well,” Ava admitted. 

Sara kissed her long and deep, and Ava considered for a moment that maybe they should just say the hell with the party and stay at Sara’s instead, but her thoughts and the kiss were interrupted by a knock at the door to Sara’s room. 

“I hope you two are decent. We’re coming in!” Zari said as she opened the door. 

Ava looked over to see Zari making her way into the room with her arms outstretched and her eyes closed. An amused Amaya followed her into the room and waved at Ava and Sara. 

“You could have waited for me to invite you in,” Sara said, not moving away from Ava at all. 

Zari opened one eye and then the other. “I warned you we were coming. I figured I could always burn my eyes out if we walked in on the two of you in a compromising position. Which, by the way, it looks like we would have if we’d waited a few minutes,” Zari added, looking them up and down. 

“Feel free to come back later, then,” Sara invited with a smirk, pulling Ava a little bit closer.

Amaya raised an eyebrow at Ava that made her feel a little self-conscious. Sara must have noticed the way she stiffened slightly, because she relented and moved away. Despite the other people in the room, Ava still felt a little disappointed to have Sara no longer touching her. 

“So you two have been hanging out all afternoon?” Ava asked Amaya and Zari. 

“Just like you two, apparently,” Amaya replied. 

“Lots of making out for you two, too?” Sara joked. 

Zari rolled her eyes and Amaya laughed, shooting a quick glance at Zari. Ava chuckled, too. 

“Amaya is surprisingly adept at video games, even though she claims she hasn’t played much,” Zari informed them. 

“She hasn’t,” Ava confirmed. Amaya’s parents were pretty old school when it came to tech and she was never allowed gaming systems. She’d never shown any real interest in them either, though, until now.

“Well, your girl kicks some ass,” Zari replied. 

“Speaking of kicking ass, did you know that Ava is actually kinda badass?”

“Yes,” Amaya replied simply. 

“Tall and nerdy? Are we talking in a ‘lifting lots of textbooks’ kind of way?” Zari asked. 

Ava narrowed her eyes at Zari and Amaya gave her a nudge in the side. 

“What? I mean, she’s super smart. That’s not insulting.”

“Good thing because I meant in a ‘she could totally kick your ass if you call her nerdy again’ way,” Sara replied.

“I know how I know that, but how do you know that?” Amaya asked. 

“We did some sparring on our date today,” Ava replied. 

“Romantic,” Zari commented and Sara grabbed a pencil off her desk and threw it at her, though she easily dodged it. 

Since Amaya looked interested, Ava continued. “It was really fun actually. Amaya, you’d probably do better against Sara than I did.”

“I don’t know. You held your own really well, even when you didn’t cheat,” Sara contradicted with a sly grin. 

Ava blushed. 

“Cheat?” Amaya asked, looking confused. 

“Taking off her clothes, distracting me with kisses, stuff like that,” Sara explained. 

“I took off my shirt! That was all! And I had on a sports bra!” Ava defended herself when Amaya looked surprised. 

“Let me guess, you’ve got pretty decent abs?” Zari said. 

“They’re okay, I guess,” Ava replied. They weren’t nearly as cut as Sara’s, that was for sure, but she wasn’t completely lacking in definition either. 

“They’re pretty good,” Amaya said.

“Sara’s weak for strong girls. Probably half of why she likes you so much is your strong personality,” Zari informed her. 

“Okay, I think that’s quite enough of THAT conversation!” Sara declared, moving through the group toward her bedroom door. “Who else wants a drink before this party?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava overcomes some nerves, some new (but arrowverse familiar) characters get introduced, and Sara and Ava kick ass...at beer pong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are the best readers a girl could ask for. I really will do my best to post as often as I can and write as fast as I can, but I do have 3 kids all vying for my attention and often, my lap. Plus we're getting some nice weather finally, which means outside time. I will do my best not to make it weeks between updates, though. I know that word made some of you sad last chapter. Thanks again for all your continued feedback!
> 
> There's a bonus note on the post about this chapter if you happen to follow me on tumblr: lizardwriter.

“You ready for this?” Sara asked. 

Ava gave her a quizzical look. They were in the back of Zari’s car and the way that Sara’s leg was pressing against hers was proving more distracting than she cared to admit. 

“High school party as my date? You said you never really had much cause to be out at school, but this will pretty much do that.”

Ava hadn’t really given it much thought until that moment. 

“In fairness, thanks to Guinevere’s rumor, half the school probably already thinks you like the ladies, so not really going to have the shock value,” Zari chimed in. 

“I mean, I was going to announce it in my valedictorian speech just to see everyone’s shocked faces, but I guess that’s out now,” Ava replied. 

“Hey, you’re right, she is funny!” Zari said to Sara.

“I’m also right here,” Ava pointed out. 

“And you also still haven’t answered my question. Are you ready for this?” Sara repeated. 

Out at school. She honestly hadn’t been sure she ever would be, even though she’d made no effort to hide it. The idea that her sexuality would suddenly become a relevant piece of information at school sometime before graduation just hadn’t seemed likely. Walking into a party on Sara’s arm though...that was as good as painting a banner and hanging it across the hallway at school. And it was different than just some stupid rumor. 

Sara reached for her hand and gave it a little squeeze as Zari parked behind a long line of cars on a quiet cul-de-sac. “We can walk in as friends instead if you’d rather.”

Ava was definitely more nervous than she’d been a few minutes before, but she had no delusions about being able to pretend to be just friends with Sara. She shook her head and leaned in for a kiss. “I’m good,” she informed her. 

Sara grinned and kissed her again, longer this time. 

“Quit making out in my backseat,” Zari complained. “You’re gonna make me want a drink and I’m being amazingly selfless and being your designated driver this evening.”

“And we love you for it,” Sara declared, opening her door.

“I thought you didn’t drink,” Ava heard Amaya say to Zari as they got out of the car. 

“So far I don’t. It’s a contentious issue in my family. My dad is of the mind that it’s not so bad. My uncle believes it’s a sin. Large family gatherings like what’s happening next weekend are a blast.”

“We still love her for being our driver even if she wasn’t going to drink anyway!” Sara called over her shoulder as she came to stand next to Ava. 

“Because I’m awesome,” Zari replied.

Amaya laughed. “Naturally.”

Sara looked at Ava and offered her her arm. “Ready to join the party?”

“Is it too late to go back to your place and make it a party of two?” Ava suggested, feeling her heart racing in her chest. 

“Yes,” Zari said, coming up behind them. 

“Lance! You made it!” Someone called from a small group of people near the front steps. “Tomaz! The party has arrived!”

“Hey, Leo!” Sara called back a greeting. 

Ava searched out the person who had spoken. She placed him as the kid who had stolen all of the English department finals the year before and sold copies for $50 a pop.

Amaya reached out and gave her hand a little squeeze and she felt a little better. 

Sara waved her arm expectantly and Ava took it. 

“People will get over the shock of seeing their future valedictorian at a party quickly. Don’t worry,” Sara soothed. 

Ava took a deep breath. It was just a stupid party. It was just the same kids she saw in school every week. Plus, she was on the arm of the most beautiful girl there. Not a big deal. She smiled at Sara. “Let’s go.”

  
  
  


To say that people seemed surprised to see her was probably an understatement. Sara, despite only having gone to their school for three months, seemed to know everybody there. Ava recognized most of them, but could only name half and had personally interacted with fewer than that. Embarrassingly, almost everyone seemed to know who she was. 

Everybody greeted Sara enthusiastically, then saw their linked arms, then turned to her with either a shocked expression or a sort of surprised, forced smile and greeted her too. It felt a little like people were trying to fit two jigsaw puzzle pieces together in their minds, but they hadn’t turned the pieces the right way yet.

Much to Ava’s annoyance, Amaya didn’t seem to be getting nearly as many strange looks and was a lot better at easily mingling with the people around her.

“You good?” Sara asked, giving her a little nudge. “You’ve got this cute little deer in headlights thing going on.”

Ava nodded, turning towards Sara. Her piercing blue eyes never failed to catch her off guard, and, God, she was just so close. Ava leaned in and touched her forehead to Sara’s. “I’m good,” she assured her, breathing in the comfort that being that close to Sara provided. 

That thought surprised her. When had that happened? When had Sara become that and not just someone who set her off-balance?

Sara grinned. “Good,” she said, kissing her on the forehead before pulling away. 

“Hey! Glad you guys could make it!” Jax said, pushing his way past a few people. He pulled first Sara, then Ava, and then Zari and Amaya in for hugs. “My boy, Ronnie, said I could invite whoever, and obviously there couldn’t be a party without you guys.”

“Thanks,” Ava said, trying to ignore the surprise she felt at being included in that sentence. 

“So drinks are in the kitchen, which is that way,” Jax gestured over his shoulder. “Beer pong is set up in the basement, and there’s a homemade ice luge on the back deck because we figured why not take advantage of it still being too fucking cold outside.”

“Ice luge?” Ava asked. 

“You pour liquor down it to chill,” Sara murmured in her ear, tucking her hair behind her ear in the process. 

Ava nodded. She noticed a few people notice the intimacy of the touch and felt her cheeks flush. 

Jax grinned at them. “Your hair looks good down, Ava.”

“Back off. She’s mine,” Sara said, wrapping a possessive arm around Ava’s waist, but her tone was playful and Jax just laughed. 

“I would never try to poach your girl. You know that. No matter how pretty she is,” he added with a wink at Ava. 

Sara wagged a finger at him and he held up his hands playfully.

Ava couldn’t help wondering, with Jax’s easy compliments and Sara’s insistent flirting, if maybe she’d missed signs from other people before she met Sara just because she’d been so focussed on other things. She slipped out of Sara’s arms and scooted closer to Amaya who was talking to Zari. Sara shot her a curious look, but Ava just held up a finger to indicate that she’d be right back. 

“Hey, can I steal you for a minute?” Ava asked Amaya, cupping her hand around her mouth to be heard over the music. 

“Yeah, sure,” Amaya said. “One sec, I’ll be right back,” she told Zari. 

Ava pulled Amaya around groups of people until they found a quieter spot near a hallway. 

“What’s up?” Amaya asked. 

“Have I been oblivious to people hitting on me before? Or like, complimenting me?”

Amaya laughed. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Amaya took her hand and patted it. “Honey, yes. All the time. Mostly guys, and I always assumed you willfully ignored it because you had no interest, but I’ve seen girls get flirty, too.”

Ava’s mouth fell open. “Like who?? When??”

“The guy at the ice cream truck on the beach EVERY summer since we were like thirteen for starters. And that girl who used to do Taekwondo with us. Lauren something I think her name was? Our usual waitress at the diner definitely thinks you’re cute. Pretty sure that’s WHY we have a regular waitress. Like I think she asks to have us seated in her section.”

“What?”

“Sweetie, I love you, and you are brilliant and strong and an amazing friend once you let people in, but you are also oblivious and not very good at giving people a chance to get close. Sara’s been good for you about that. You’ve been coming out of your shell,” Amaya told her with a kind smile. 

“But...I...Really? Sammy asks for us to be in her section?” Ava asked, dumbfounded. 

“I heard her ask the hostess one night when we went in,” Amaya confirmed.

“Everything okay?” Sara asked, appearing beside them. She put a comforting hand on Ava’s elbow. 

“Apparently our regular waitress has a crush on me,” Ava said, still reeling from that information. 

Sara looked questioningly at Amaya. 

“She’s only just realized how desirable people might find her,” Amaya supplied. “I pointed out other instances where she’d missed the fact that she was being flirted with. Before you.”

“Aaah,” Sara said, sliding her arm around Ava’s waist and patting her side. “You’re cute when you’re in shock.”

“I just...okay, I’m not completely oblivious to guys hitting on me, but they’re guys. Ew.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve covered this before, but you’re hot. And sexy. With amazing legs. And like perfect cheekbones. Plus you’re smart and you’re confident in your intelligence which is even more sexy, so I’m really not surprised that I’m not the first girl to flirt with you that you’ve missed,” Sara informed her. 

Ava turned her eyes to Sara, her mouth hanging open and her cheeks burning at all the compliments. Sara grinned at her and Amaya chuckled and looked away.

“I-“ Ava started, but she realized she had nothing to follow it up with. She realized she fully believed that Sara meant everything she’d just said. Well, if she was dating her, that was probably a good thing. Actually, if she was dating her, and she was at a party with her surrounded by kids they knew, she should probably lean into the experience. 

“Well, at least I’m dating the right person, then, because you’re sexy and strong and confident and extra flirty just in case I don’t get it at first,” she finally replied with a grin, sliding her arms around Sara and leaning in for a kiss. 

Sara pulled back in surprise and raised an eyebrow at her. Ava grinned back at her and shrugged, and Sara leaned back in for more kisses. 

“Okay, if you ditched me to come watch them make out, I’m a little worried about you,” Zari declared emerging from the crowd. 

“Oh! Woah!” Jax said a moment later. 

When Ava broke apart from Sara and looked at them, Jax was averting his eyes.

“I didn’t. I promise. But, come on, they’re pretty cute,” Amaya said to Zari. 

Zari made a face. “Nauseating, maybe.”

Amaya laughed. “Come on. I need a drink,” she said, leading Zari off towards the kitchen. 

“I, uh, did you want me to leave you guys alone? Or...Ronnie doesn’t want anyone in his parents’ room, but I-“

“Jax, chill. We’re good,” Sara told him.

“So, can I get you some drinks?” Jax offered. 

“That’d be great, thanks,” Sara replied.    
Jax gave them a thumbs up and disappeared back into the crowd. 

“You know, I’m pretty impressed you kissed me just now,” Sara said turning back to face Ava, arm still firmly around her waist. 

“Oh yeah? Why?” Ava asked, leaning in and allowing herself to momentarily forget that there were lots of other people around. 

“It’s pretty ballsy for ten minutes into the party. I guess I assumed we’d play things a little cooler until you got more comfortable. Clearly I underestimated you,” Sara said, leaning in seductively. 

“Clearly,” Ava agreed with a smile, moving in for another kiss. 

“Your confidence is so sexy,” Sara informed her, pulling away and moving to hold her hand. 

Ava blushed, but didn’t move away. It wasn’t even the alcohol in her system that had emboldened her. The half a drink she’d had at Sara’s had had no effect on her sobriety. Somehow being with Sara was reminding her to push herself and be more bold.  She’d never been shy, exactly, merely focussed. Now she was refocusing slightly.

“Yeah?” Ava asked. 

Sara nodded her confirmation, bringing their hands up, then clasping their fingers together. She leaned in for another kiss with a smile. 

“I think I like you finding me sexy,” Ava informed her before kissing her again. 

“Okay, ladies, if you can pry yourselves away from each other’s lips, I come bearing beverages,” Jax said. 

When Ava and Sara sheepishly turned to look at him, they saw that Amaya and Zari were with him.

“If all you were going to do was lock lips, you could’ve stayed home,” Zari accused as Ava took the red cup that Jax handed her and sniffed curiously at the red liquid inside.  “It’s mostly fruit punch and vodka. I didn’t give you too much,” Jax informed her. 

“It’s okay, Ava’s tolerance is surprisingly good given that she doesn’t drink all that often,” Amaya told them.  

“I’m pretty shocked she drinks at all,” Zari replied.  

“I have to say, I’m a tiny bit surprised that you’ve drunk enough that Amaya has a gauge on your tolerance level,” Sara admitted.  

“I do occasionally do things besides study!” Ava declared defensively, taking a sip of her drink. It was surprisingly not overwhelmingly alcoholic tasting. It wasn’t exactly a glass of wine though, and that was her preferred drink.  

“We take this yearly beach trip and our parents are pretty lax on the drinking rules as long as we’re responsible and don’t go out anywhere while we’re under the influence,” Amaya explained. 

“I have seen pictures of those trips,” Sara replied with a grin.

Amaya gave Ava a surprised look. 

“The ones on my wall. It’s not like I was showing her photo albums,” Ava assured her. 

“There are photo albums?” Sara asked with interest. “Are you in a bikini in these photo albums? Because I wouldn’t mind seeing more pictures of that.”

“You know you literally saw me with my shirt off earlier today, right?” Ava reminded her. 

“Really?” Jax asked. 

“When we were sparring,” Ava supplied, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

“Sparring? What, so Ava’s super smart AND a badass? That’s pretty cool,” Jax said.

“Yes, it is,” Sara agreed. “But back to these photo albums.”

“No,” Ava replied. 

“You’re not still mad that I called Amaya hot, are you?” Sara asked. “Because I’m pretty sure I’ve shown you who I find more attractive.”

“Umm...what?” Zari interjected. 

“If it’s the picture I’m thinking of, I’m also in a bikini in it,” Amaya supplied, not looking the least bit flustered that Sara had called her hot. 

“I wouldn’t mind seeing that picture,” Jax said. 

Sara shot him a glare. 

“What?” He asked. “I’m a guy with eyes. I don’t have to want either of them or have a shot with either of them to appreciate their beauty.”

“Okay, you all realize we’re at a party and clustered over in the corner talking about pictures, right? If you want your designated driver to not resort to alcohol, then we need to do something fun,” Zari declared. 

“Beer pong?” Amaya suggested. 

“Okay, but you’re drinking all my beer,” Zari agreed. 

“Deal.”

“Sounds fun, you in?” Sara asked Ava. 

“I don’t really like beer very much,” Ava replied. 

“I’ll drink your beer,” Sara assured her. 

“Great. Just because I’ve got testosterone I’m left to fend for myself for entertainment?” Jax pouted. 

“Come on, we’ll cycle you in,” Sara said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “Wouldn’t want you to find your own entertainment at a house party full of your friends.”

“Thank you,” Jax said, leading the way to the basement. “That’s all I ask.”

Ava watched them walk off and laughed. She looked at Zari and Amaya who were looking at her expectantly.

“Shall we?” Zari prompted. 

“Right, yeah.”

  
  
  


“Yessss! Dream team!” Sara high-fived Ava, who grinned broadly.

She felt practically giddy. She knew she wasn’t drunk. She’d finished her punch and followed it up with a cup full of water while Sara had downed the few cups of beer their opposing teams had sunk in the last three games. So far they were unbeaten. 

“Come on, rematch!” Jax challenged. 

“Dude, they just beat us twice,” Ronnie, who’d joined them shortly after they’d started round one, said. “My pride needs a break.”

“Besides, we’re up again,” Zari declared, getting to her feet and holding out a hand to Amaya, who had been sitting on the couch beside her watching the games. 

Amaya took her hand and let Zari pull her to her feet. 

“All right, bookworm, bring it!” Zari declared. 

“Let’s kick their ass, babe!” Sara said, planting a kiss on Ava’s cheek. 

“We might want to set up first,” Ava pointed out. 

Amaya chuckled. She’d already set to work filling the cups. 

“I’ve got next,” a gratingly familiar voice said from behind Ava. 

“You need a partner,” Zari pointed out, cracking open a beer and helping to fill the cups. 

“I’m sure I can convince one of these big, strong guys to play with me,” Guinevere said with a coy smile at Jax and Ronnie. 

“Girl, you have GOT to know you’re barking up the wrong tree here. You know Sara’s like my best friend, right?” Jax said. 

“It’s not my fault your friend’s a slut,” Guinevere shot back. 

Ava clenched her fists at her side, and Sara let out a bark of laughter.

“Sure, Gwinny. I’M the slut.”

“You and Miss Too-Good-For-Everyone. Nobody is fooled by your goody two-shoes act anymore, Ava. You can drop it.”

Ava felt Sara tense beside her and put a soothing hand on her back. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for them to come to blows with Guinevere. “She’s not worth it,” Ava murmured in Sara’s ear. 

“What about you, handsome? Want to help me show these losers how the game is played?” Guinevere asked Ronnie with a flirtatious bat of her eyes. 

Ronnie looked at Jax with an expression that said “is this chick for real?” and laughed. “Sorry. You’re going to have to try to dig your talons into someone else. I happen to like the people you just rudely insulted in my house.”

“We all happen to like them,” Zari added with a glare. “And Ava’s right. You’re not worth the breath it takes to respond to you.” Zari turned back to Sara and Ava and said, “ Rack up. You’re going down this time.”

Guinevere let out a strangled indignant huff. “Bitch!” she growled. 

Before anybody else could react, Amaya calmly slid in between Guinevere and everyone else. 

“You know, until you learn to build other women up, you’re going to keep feeling like everyone is tearing you down. I suggest you leave before one of us actually decides to act on our annoyance.” Her voice was even and almost friendly, but there was an iciness in her stare that Ava had only seen her use a handful of times before. She never wanted to be on the receiving end of it. 

“I don’t actually remember inviting you,” Ronnie added. “Feel free to see yourself out.”

Guinevere glared at all of them, then turned on her heels and left without another word. 

“I wonder what rumor she’ll pay us back with this time?” Ava wondered aloud, turning back to the table and setting up the cups. 

“I wonder how long it’ll be before she calls the cops on the party,” Zari said. 

“She’d been drinking quite a bit from the smell of her. I wouldn’t worry,” Amaya replied. 

“Besides, leeches like that don’t leave that easily. She’ll go find someone she CAN intimidate to help her feel better about herself,” Jax predicted.

“You guys are harsh. Remind me never to piss you off,” Sara declared. 

Ava laughed and hip-checked Sara. “Please, I thought you were going to pummel her for a second there.”

“Yeah, well, she insulted my girlfriend,” Sara replied defensively, wrapping an arm around Ava’s waist. 

“Nope. No making out at the beer pong table,” Zari cut them off before Ava could even start to lean in for a kiss. “Come on. Let’s start the game.”

  
  
  


“You suck,” Zari grumbled as they made their way to the kitchen for refills. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re mad because we don’t suck, actually,” Sara corrected her with a smirk. 

Ava laughed and gave Sara’s hand a squeeze as they pressed against the wall to move past a group of people.

“Hey, babe, sorry I’m late!” A familiar voice said. The owner pushed past Ava and Sara and leaped into Ronnie’s outstretched arms as they made it into the kitchen. 

“Hey, Caitlin,” Ava greeted the person, a little surprised. She hadn’t realized that Caitlin and Ronnie were a thing. Then again, when she and Caitlin hung out academics were usually the focus. As third in their class right behind Ray, Ava had a healthy respect for Caitlin, and the fact that she was genuinely nice meant that Ava counted her among her friends, though it had been quite some time since they’d hung out outside of school. 

“Ava!” Caitlin greeted her warmly, surprise written on her face as she tore herself away from Ronnie and gave Ava a quick hug. “It’s really nice to see you here. I didn’t think...uh, it’s just I don’t think I’ve seen you at a party since they stopped involving party favors and parent-organized games.”

“You probably haven’t,” Ava agreed. 

“Well, it’s nice to see you out of school. It’s been a while.”

Ava nodded. 

Sara threw her arm around Ava and pulled her in with a grin. “I know, right? I’m pretty proud of myself for dragging her away from her books tonight.”

Caitlin’s eyes went wide as she took in Sara’s arm around Ava and absorbed Sara’s words. “Oh! You guys...I didn’t realize you were...I mean, I’d heard the rumor, but who takes Guinevere seriously, I mean, really?”

Ava nodded in agreement.

“It’s a pretty recent development,” Ava said gesturing between her and Sara. 

“Well, cool,” Caitlin replied with a genuine smile. 

If Ava had been holding on to any remaining anxiety about being out at school and openly dating Sara, Caitlin’s warm reaction made it evaporate. Here was someone who she actually counted as a friend, and she didn’t care. She was happy for her. The general masses didn’t really matter. The people who she could call friend and accepted her for the nerdy lesbian she was mattered. 

Amaya and Zari greeted Caitlin, then disappeared with their refilled drinks in hand to go talk to some other friends, but Ava wrapped her arm around Sara, pulling her in closer, and settled into an easy conversation catching up with Caitlin and getting to know Ronnie better.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party continues, Ava stands up for herself, Sara supports Ava and her friends, and Zari is a sarcastic asshole who also cares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of you said you liked seeing Ava be more confident, so hopefully that means you'll really enjoy this chapter! Thank you for all of your continuing feedback! Seriously, it makes my day! And if anyone reading this doesn't know: I published an Avalance oneshot on Monday called "Worth the Risk", so feel free to check it out.

High school parties didn’t suck as much as she’d always suspected they did, Ava decided. Or maybe it was the company she’d found to keep at it. They’d settled into a cozy corner, and occasionally one or two of them would drift off or someone else would wander over to chat, but for the most part it was some variation of Zari, Amaya, Jax, Kendra (who Ava realized she did recognize from school, but had never really interacted with), Caitlin, Ronnie, Sara, and herself. It was without a doubt the “cool” group at the party that anyone who arrived or left stopped by to say hi or bye, and several people lingered on the outskirts, and that in itself was weird. Not that there was that group, but that Ava found herself a part of it. Truth be told she’d never considered herself unpopular. She’d always had friends to talk to at school even if it was just one or two at a time, and nobody had seemed to actively dislike her (until this past week, that is). She’d never exactly been sought out for social events, but she’d never been particularly interested in them either. Yet here she found herself: at a busy house party with some of the most popular kids in school on the arm of arguably the coolest girl to ever walk the halls. Of course, that might have been coloring her judgement of the party slightly. 

So might the way that Sara kept finding little ways to touch her. A hand on the curve of her back here. Brushing hair away from her cheek there. Touching foreheads or cheeks when they leaned in to talk just to each other. A hand on her arm when Ava made her laugh. 

And then there were the kisses. 

Ava had never been big on PDAs. She hadn’t really gone for them with other girlfriends and she’d always sort of cringed when she’d seen other people indulging in them, but somehow at the party with Sara she didn’t mind. 

It was hardly like they were making out in the corner or something. It was just that every once in a while Sara would say something that just made Ava want to kiss her. Or she’d give her this look that just drew Ava in. Or she would be so close that there was really no reason she shouldn’t kiss her. 

It was possible that she had very little resistance when it came to Sara. 

“I’m really glad you came out tonight,” Sara murmured in her ear, placing a soft kiss just beneath it.

Ava turned in and bumped her nose softly against Sara’s before capturing her lips in a kiss.

“Hot!” 

The yelled comment made Ava pull back and look around. To her dismay, two guys she recognized from school, but couldn’t place beyond “jocks”, were staring at her and Sara with grins that instantly made her skin crawl. 

“Get lost,” Sara invited them, turning her attention back to Ava. 

The guys didn’t take the invitation. 

“Go on, kiss her again,” the taller of the two urged. 

“Maybe they don’t want an audience,” Jax suggested. “Just move on, man.”

“If they didn’t want an audience, they wouldn’t have done it at a party. They know they’re hot,” the shorter one countered. 

The two of them moved closer and Ava stiffened even with Sara’s calming hand on her spine.

“Yeah, cause every time a guy and a girl kiss in public they’re looking for an audience,” Zari commented sarcastically. 

“That is SO not the same thing as two exceptional females going at it.”

Ava felt sick to her stomach at the guy’s words and at his friend’s lecherous grin of agreement. 

“Go on, lay another one on her. Or would you like us to show you how?” 

Why did people have to be so despicable and ruin a perfectly good time? Ava felt herself starting to fume. Zari was right. If she or Sara was a guy nobody would’ve made a comment at their little kiss, but two girls couldn’t possibly just have feelings for each other and want the freedom to touch in public. No, clearly they HAD to be doing it for the enjoyment of the guys around them. Her hand clenched into a fist at the thought. 

“Wait, are you two offering to kiss each other?” Zari asked, and Amaya and Sara chuckled, but Ava was too annoyed at the sleazeballs to be amused. 

The two guys took a quick step away from each other. “No way,” one said while the other exclaimed, “Gross!”

“I agree, the prospect of kissing either of you is gross,” Sara said.

“What’d you say, bitch?” the taller one said, taking a menacing step forward. 

Jax and Ronnie jumped to their feet protectively, and Zari pushed off of the wall she was leaning against. Ava clenched her fist tighter and narrowed her eyes at them. 

“Excuse you?” Zari demanded at the same time as Jax threatened, “You’re looking for an ass-kicking!” and Ronnie said, “I think it’s time you two got out of my house!”

“None of you can take a joke,” the shorter of the pair dismissed them and started to try to tug his buddy away, but either alcohol or pure stupidity kept him in place. 

“Listen losers, I was just trying to enjoy these sluts-“

Ava acted before she thought. Her palm smarted, but not as much as she knew the jerk’s nose would. She’d felt the crack. 

The guy staggered back under the force of the blow, clutching his nose. He hurled a string of obscenities in Ava’s direction, but had the common sense to let his friend help him beat a hasty retreat. 

She turned back to Sara who was looking at her with a surprised grin on her face.

“Woah! Did you see that?!” Jax exclaimed patting Ava on the back. “That was awesome!”

“That was impressive,” Zari agreed. 

“Nice palm strike,” Amaya nodded approvingly. 

“I’m not normally an advocate for violence, but that was pretty awesome,” Caitlin said. 

Ava blushed. She hadn’t really meant to hurt him, it was just that he’d been so sleazy and entitled and he’d insulted Sara.

“I think I broke his nose,” Ava mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed, but also kind of proud of herself.

“I  _ know _ you broke his nose,” Sara replied, wrapping her arms around Ava’s waist and pulling her towards her. 

Ava smiled sheepishly at her. “He was just being such an asshole to you, and -“

“Were you trying to defend my honor? Because I’m pretty sure he was insulting to everyone.”

Ava blushed and Sara pulled her into a kiss. 

“My hero,” Sara mumbled against her lips. 

“My hero, too!” Jax exclaimed. “I’m not gonna kiss you for it though,” he assured her. “I was about ready to deck that guy, you just beat me to it.”

“Apparently I need to be more selective in my guest lists,” Ronnie commented, settling back in beside Caitlin. 

“Man, what guest list. You said invite whoever,” Jax said. 

“Okay, so maybe I should start having a guest list,” Ronnie corrected and Ava laughed. 

Okay, maybe the party had provided a little more excitement than she’d anticipated, but it was still pretty fun, she decided.

  
  
  


“Hey, Amaya’s not doing so hot. I don’t think she realized how much alcohol is actually in that punch,” Zari said, coming to find Ava. 

“What do you mean, not doing so hot?” Ava asked, getting quickly to her feet. 

“She’s in the bathroom being nauseous. She doesn’t think she’s going to throw up, but she’s lightheaded and I’m guessing she’s gonna have quite the hangover tomorrow. She wanted me to get you,” Zari replied.

Ava shot Sara an apologetic look, untangled herself from her, and stood up. To her surprise, Sara stood up beside her. 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to come,” Ava assured her. 

“I want to make sure she’s okay,” Sara replied and they both followed Zari to the bathroom. 

“Hey, sweetie, how’re you doing?” Ava asked as she entered with a small knock. 

“Did you know the, ummm, the red stuff -“

“The punch?”

“That’s it. Did you know there’s a lot of alcohol in there?”

“I kinda suspected,” Ava said. “And you didn’t?”

“It just tasted sweet. I didn’t think about it. It was so easy to drink.”

Ava nodded. It was why she’d made a point to follow up her cup with a few glasses of water.

“Sorry, I’m spoiling the party for you,” Amaya said with a small moan as she shut her eyes and leaned her head against the bathroom cabinet. 

“You’re not. It’s fine,” Ava contradicted, sitting on the floor beside her and taking her hand. “What’re best friends for if not to help out when you’ve made questionable decisions?”

“But I’m taking you away from Sara and it’s supposed to be your second date,” Amaya protested. 

“No you’re not. I’m right here. Here, drink this,” Sara said, kneeling next to her and pushing a cup of water into Amaya’s hands. 

“Thanks,” Amaya said. 

“I’ve got her. You don’t have to stay,” Ava told Sara. 

“I don’t mind. What’re girlfriends for? Besides, I’ve had more than my fair share of helping people who have drunk too much,” Sara replied with a grin. 

Ava smiled back. Sara wasn’t just there for her. She was actively interested in helping Amaya. Somehow that only made her like her more. “Thank you. I really appreciate this. You’re sure you don’t mind missing the rest of the party?”

“Not if the best company around isn’t going to be here,” Sara assured her. 

“Oh my god, stop! You’re gonna make her puke!” Zari interjected. 

Amaya chuckled softly then groaned.  “I think it’s sweet, actually.”

“Okay, well, you’re gonna make me puke, then. You two go be nauseatingly cute back at the party. I’ll take care of Amaya.”

“No, it’s okay, she’s my best friend. I don’t mind,” Ava countered. 

“No, she’s right. Go. I’m good with Zari,” Amaya encouraged. 

“I’ll take her back to my house and keep an eye on her. Then I can laugh at how hungover she is in the morning, too. Bonus.”

Amaya laughed and then the sound became pained. 

“Zari, you’re our ride,” Sara reminded her. “We’ll just come with you guys.”

Zari considered this for a moment. “Ava, you’re still sober, right? I’ve seen you pound more waters than alcoholic beverages.”

Ava nodded. 

“Here, take my keys. Do NOT crash my car,” Zari instructed, pulling her keys out of her pocket and handing them over. 

Ava’s eyes went wide in surprise as she took the keys. “I won’t,” she assured her. 

“More importantly: don’t have sex in my car,” Zari added. 

“That’s more important?” Ava asked.

Sara looked amused. 

“Equally important,” Zari amended. 

“How’re you guys going to get home, though?” Ava asked. 

“One sec,” Zari replied, holding up a finger. She opened the bathroom door and leaned out. “Jax!” she called out. “Jax, come here, dude!” A moment later a disgruntled looking Jax appeared in the doorway beside her. “Jax will give us a ride,” Zari declared. 

“What?” Jax asked, looking bewildered. 

“Amaya’s not doing so hot, Sara and Ava need my car to drive home later, so you’re giving us a ride. Let’s go!” Zari explained, moving to help Amaya to her feet. 

“Aw man, come on, Z! Kendra was really digging my vibe tonight, if you know what I mean.”

“The doorknob knows what you mean. You can screw her another time. Hell, you can come back after you drop us off and screw her. I don’t care. Now help me get her to your car,” Zari said, putting her arm around Amaya’s waist as Amaya draped her arm around Zari’s shoulder and leaned heavily on her. 

“A please would be nice.” Jax grumbled, as he moved to support Amaya’s other side. 

“Remember that time I saved you from the crazy stalker girl? Consider this repayment,” Zari replied. 

“Okay okay. Come on,” Jax said. “I hope you two have fun,” he added reproachfully at Ava and Sara. 

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come?” Ava asked, feeling guilty. 

“She’s in good hands, Ava. Relax,” Zari replied. 

“Honestly, I’ll be fine. I mostly just want to go to sleep. Stay. Have fun,” Amaya replied. 

Ava and Sara followed them out and Ava kissed Amaya on the forehead. “Thanks. Call me in the morning when you’re feeling up to it. I’ll come get you and take you home.”

“Don’t worry. And don’t feel guilty,” Amaya instructed. 

Ava nodded. “I’ll try.” She stepped back as Jax and Zari got in the car. 

Sara slipped her arm around her waist as they watched them drive off. “She really likes you,” Sara said. 

“Amaya?”

“No, Zari.”

“How can you tell?” Ava asked, surprised. 

“She trusted you with her car,” Sara replied.

Ava grinned. 

“Just don’t get a scratch on it,” Sara said and Ava laughed.

“I won’t.”

“Hey, are you guys okay? I saw Jax and Zari helping Amaya out,” Caitlin said, coming to a stop beside them and looking on down the driveway. Ronnie followed close behind her. 

“Yeah, Amaya just wasn’t feeling great so they took her home. She misjudged the fruit punch.”

“I told you that stuff should come with a warning,” Caitlin rounded on Ronnie. 

“Okay, okay! Next time I’ll place a sign or something.” He turned to Ava and Sara. “Since you decided to stay, are you up for a beer pong rematch? My secret weapon wasn’t here when I played you before,” Ronnie said, wrapping an arm around Caitlin’s waist. 

Caitlin grinned. 

“As long as your dignity can take losing some more,” Ava replied jokingly. 

Sara looked at her in surprise as Ronnie said, “Woah! Big talk! Bring it on!”

“Look at you, being all bold,” Sara said, giving her hip a little squeeze. “Have I told you how sexy that is?”

Ava blushed. “So are house parties always so eventful?”

“I mean someone always pukes,” Sara replied. 

“And usually someone breaks something,” Ronnie added. 

“Just not usually someone’s nose,” Sara teased, bumping Ava’s hip with her own. 

Ava blushed deeper. “It wasn’t like that was my intention.”

“It was glorious! I’d watch that over and over!” Ronnie declared. 

“He was kinda asking for it,” Caitlin said.

“But overall, no. Most parties aren’t quite this eventful. This one is...memorable,” Sara said, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek as they re-entered the house. 

Memorable. Yeah, Ava was definitely going to remember this one. For sure.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava time, a brief encounter with a Quentin Lance, and more snarky comments from Zari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter still doesn't get too racy, but I'm bumping up the rating just to be on the safe side. I hope that people are still enjoying this story! Thanks for reading!

“Hey, where does Zari live?” Ava asked. 

“You want to go check on Amaya?” Sara asked. 

They’d been sitting in front of Sara’s house for a good ten minutes, neither of them especially ready to say goodnight. 

“No, she texted a while back saying she was feeling better and was going to sleep. I just thought Zari might like it if I returned her car tomorrow.”

Sara laughed. “Yeah, probably. I’d forgotten about that.”

“Even though we’re actively sitting in her car?”

“I’m distracted by the stunning beauty in front of me. I could be anywhere right now,” Sara replied with a grin that made Ava’s heart flutter. 

“Flirt,” she mumbled to try to hide just how much of an effect Sara’s words had had on her. 

“Must not have been that effective. I was angling for a kiss.”

Ava chuckled and leaned in for a kiss. 

The kiss deepened quickly and for a few minutes Ava just got lost in the feel of Sara’s lips on hers, her tongue brushing against hers, her fingers tangling in her hair. It was only when she shifted to move closer and the gearshift dug into her uncomfortably that they broke apart, breathless. 

“Ow,” Ava said rubbing her side. 

“You could come in,” Sara offered.

Ava bit her lip as she considered the offer. It was enticing. REALLY enticing. But if she went in, she wasn’t sure she’d leave tonight. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to restrain herself. 

“We don’t have to have sex. I wasn’t...We should both be sober when that happens,” Sara said. 

“You seem pretty sober,” Ava challenged. 

“I have a high tolerance, but I feel a buzz and when we...all I want to feel is you.”

Ava stared at Sara, eyes wide. 

Sara laughed. “Oh, God, that was cheesy. I’m sorry. I just...”

“It’s fine. I can see the not completely sober now,” Ava teased. 

“Shh, jerk,” Sara replied, giving her a playful shove. 

Ava grinned at her, then turned serious. “I want to come in.”

“Great!” Sara said, moving to get out of the car.

“But, I don’t think I should.”

Sara paused, then nodded. “Okay.  Yeah. That’s probably...I mean, you’re the brain, so that’s definitely smart.”

“But maybe...” Ava started, second-guessing herself. She didn’t want to leave Sara. Not yet. It didn’t matter that it was really late or she was tired. It didn’t matter that Sara was tipsy and should probably get some sleep. She wanted to spend more time with her. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her. 

“I could come in for a little while? Just not stay.”

Sara smirked. “Just a little?”

Ava shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “A few minutes. Someone should make sure you drink some water before you go to sleep.”

“You want to take care of me?” Sara asked. 

“Okay, come on, stop being cheesy and let’s go inside,” Ava declared, turning off the car and opening her door. 

Sara followed her out of the car with a small laugh.

“If my dad’s in the living room, just try to ignore him, okay?” Sara asked. 

Ava hadn’t thought about that. She’d seen the car in the driveway, but never considered it would mean she might have to face Sara’s dad at two in the morning. 

“Are you sure you want me to come in?” Ava asked, suddenly even less sure about the whole thing. 

Sara paused her steps and turned to face her. It took her a second, but she nodded. “Yeah. At worst, he’s crying in the living room. At best he’s already asleep. He had a long shift today. Anyway, you know the story behind it,” Sara said with a shrug. 

Sara took her hand and led her to the house. Her words might have been confident, but Ava noticed her slight hesitation before opening the door. 

To Ava’s relief, there was no sign of Sara’s dad. 

“See? Asleep,” Sara said. She started to lead Ava down the hall to her room, but Ava stopped her. 

“You need water, young lady,” she scolded sternly.

Sara laughed, but redirected them to the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am,” she said with a small salute. 

She filled two glasses with water and handed one to Ava.

“You know, you’re kinda sexy when you’re bossy,” Sara said, giving Ava a look over the top of her glass that made Ava want to say screw it to her reservations about sleeping with Sara so soon. 

“Drink,” she advised, taking a large gulp of her own water to try to cool herself down. It didn’t help. 

“So that was your first high school party as my date. How do you feel?” Sara asked. 

“That was my first high school party period,” Ava corrected. 

“I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m not so much.”

“Hey!” Ava complained. She flicked some water from her glass at Sara who giggled. 

“Well? You didn’t answer my question. How do you feel?”

Ava thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “I feel good. I feel the same. But also not.”

“Specific and not at all confusing, especially with the alcohol in my system,” Sara replied with a smirk. 

“Shut up.” Ava laughed. “I just mean, I don’t feel any different now that people know outside of our close friends, but after a night as your date I feel...I don’t know. Like more alive somehow?”

“Bolder?” Sara suggested. 

Ava shrugged. “Maybe.”

“However you feel, that smile looks good on you,” Sara said. 

Ava blushed. “Drink more,” she instructed. 

“So in the morning, or afternoon, possibly...sometime after I’m conscious tomorrow, you want to come get me and I’ll direct you to Zari’s so you can return her car?” Sara suggested. 

Ava nodded, secretly thrilled at the prospect of getting to see Sara the next day even though she wasn’t spending the night. Then again, she’d spent every day with her since Thursday. Maybe it was too much. Maybe she should just text Amaya for Zari’s address. Except then she wouldn’t get to see Sara.

Before her thoughts could spiral, Sara finished her glass of water, refilled it, then took her by the hand and led her to her room. 

Ava noticed that Sara didn’t have to unlock it this time, but she didn’t comment on that fact. 

“Since I only have you for a short time, I wanted to make sure I got to do some of this,” Sara said, taking Ava’s water glass and setting it on her desk with her own before moving back to kiss Ava deeply.

Ava reached to push the door shut behind her, then let Sara lead her to her bed, their lips never leaving each other until Sara tripped backwards over the bed, pulling Ava down on top of her. They both laughed, and Ava moved to roll off of Sara, but Sara wrapped her arms around her, holding her in place. 

Ava looked down at Sara, her eyes sparkling, her smile broad. Sara’s expression grew serious as she looked back up at her, and she ran her fingers through Ava’s hair, tucking it behind her ear. “God, you’re gorgeous.”

Ava felt like Sara had stolen the words right out of her mouth and she could think of nothing to say in reply. Instead, she kissed her. Deeply, passionately, putting feelings she wasn’t interested in naming yet into the movement of her lips and the gentle caresses of her hands on Sara’s body. 

Sara flipped them after a few minutes, straddling Ava and looking down at her with lust-filled eyes. Ava slid her hands up Sara’s thighs, slowly, deliberately, keeping eye contact as she did so. Sara bit her lower lip for a second then dove in for another kiss. Ava let her hands slide up over Sara’s hips and up under the hem of her corset top, but it was so tight that she could only get the tips of her fingers under it. 

“Are you trying to undress me, Miss Sharpe,” Sara purred in her ear before nibbling at her earlobe. 

“Maybe,” Ava admitted, tilting her head back as Sara kissed her way down her throat. 

Sara chuckled against the base of her throat, the sound vibrating through her skin.

“Naughty,” she murmured, kissing her way across Ava’s collarbone and simultaneously slipping the fingers of one hand up Ava’s stomach under her shirt. 

Ava’s breath hitched as Sara’s fingers traced their way up her ribs. She slid her hands up Sara’s back, giving up on getting under the corset in favor of clutching at the bare skin of Sara’s shoulders and pulling her back up for more kisses. She dug her fingers in slightly when Sara’s fingers found her bra and slid up over it to cup one breast. 

“Okay?” Sara gasped into her mouth.

Ava nodded enthusiastically, reclaiming Sara’s lips with her own.

Ava arched into Sara’s touch, marveling in the sensations as Sara’s thumb rubbed over her nipple through the fabric of her bra. She let out a small moan. 

They weren’t going to sleep together, Ava reminded herself as her tongue glided against Sara’s, tasting the sweetness of the mint she’d had in the car. She wasn’t going to stay over. Except she didn’t want this to stop and she didn’t want to leave. 

Sara’s fingers began to slide under her bra, and Ava gasped. If she didn’t stop this now she might not be able to. 

“Hold on,” she mumbled against Sara’s lips, unwilling to break the kiss. 

“Right, sorry,” Sara said, pulling her hand out from under Ava’s shirt and rolling off of her. 

The second that the pressure of Sara’s body left hers, Ava missed it. She wanted to protest, but she knew it was probably better this way if she really planned on still going home tonight. 

Except she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to not be with Sara. Being with her was intoxicating and Ava felt like she was riding high getting to touch her and kiss her and BE with her. 

That thought jolted her a little. She’d been dating Sara for all of a day. She’d acknowledged she might have feelings for her only two days ago. Now here she was not wanting to leave her side. 

“I should probably go,” Ava said, though she made no move to actually do so. 

How was it that she had fallen so quickly? There was no way Sara had fallen so fast. She should give herself a little space. Some breathing room to get a handle on her emotions. 

Sara reached out and took her hand. “Probably,” she agreed. “If you want.”

Ava swallowed hard. She didn’t want. And she did, too. 

“Or you could stay.  No funny business. Scouts honor,” Sara said. 

Ava laughed. “You were a scout?”

“Not once,” Sara admitted. 

Ava laughed again. They lay there looking at the ceiling, holding hands for a few minutes. Every second of it, Ava had to resist the urge to touch her more, to kiss her more, to admit defeat and say she’d stay. “I don’t know that I can promise no funny business,” she said. 

She let go of Sara’s hand and sat up. Sara sat up too and nodded. “Okay.”

Sara leaned in and kissed her gently, but pulled away before Ava could deepen it. “Goodnight, fair knight.”

Ava laughed and narrowed her eyes at Sara. “Okay, now I  _ really _ see how you’re not sober.”

“Mm, or maybe I’m just playing into your King Arthur fantasy. You did break a guy’s nose in my defense tonight,” Sara pointed out. 

“You are hardly a damsel in distress and I haven’t played that for years!”

“So you say,” Sara replied with a wink and a smirk. 

Ava laughed and stood up. “Go to sleep.”

“See you tomorrow?” Sara asked. 

Tomorrow. So soon. Later today actually. That wasn’t a lot of space or time. 

“Tomorrow,” she assured Sara. 

Sara’s answering smile and the small kiss she tugged her back down for made Ava think, “screw space and time” as she left. 

  
  
  


Ava frowned. She shouldn’t be nervous. She had no reason to be nervous. Here she was with her heart racing and her palms sweaty, working up the nerve to go knock on the door and pick up Sara to go return Zari’s car. 

Maybe it was that the car in the driveway meant that Sara’s dad was home and she might have to properly meet him, which was definitely a bit nerve-wracking. 

Ava took a deep breath. 

Then again, maybe it was just how badly she wanted to go in there that had her a bit anxious. She couldn’t wait until she could see Sara again and kiss her again. She’d been thinking about her since she woke up. And that was worrying. Okay, they were dating and the relationship was new, so maybe that was fine, but it had never been like this with any of her previous girlfriends. It had never felt this intense before. 

Ava took another deep breath and reached for the door handle. She glanced at the house and realised that Sara’s dad was in the window, looking at her expectantly. He waved a little wave. 

Ava felt her heart leap into her throat and she managed a small wave and a forced smile back.

She climbed out of the car slowly, and walked to the door in that awkward way that people who are extremely conscious they’re being observed walk. The door opened as she reached it. 

“Hi. You’re the friend of my daughter’s who was here the other day, right?”

Ava nodded. “Yeah. I’m Ava.” She stuck out her hand politely and Sara’s dad shook it firmly. 

“Quentin. Come on in. I’ll let her know you’re here,” he said, beckoning her inside. He paused after he shut the door, a contemplative look on his face. “Ava. Girlfriend Ava? Sara stayed at your house the other night?”

Ava’s eyes went wide, but before she could respond, Sara bounded into the living room and grabbed her hand, tugging her towards her bedroom. 

“Yes, girlfriend Ava who you will kindly not interrogate!” she called over her shoulder. 

“I was just making conversation, honey!” he called after them. 

Ava shot him an apologetic look and a small wave, but didn’t protest Sara leading her to her room.

“He seems-“

“Sober?”

“I was going to say nice,” Ava replied. “Less yell-y than last time.”

“Well, I haven’t gotten into trouble in a good twenty-four hours, so that puts him in a better mood,” Sara said with a shrug and a wink. She looked at her for a second, then took her other hand, too. “Hey, you.”  

“Hi,” Ava replied, leaning in for a kiss, her anxieties momentarily forgotten. “Ready to give me directions to Zari’s?”

“So soon? Does she really need her car? Like as much as I need to make out with you for a little while?”

Ava laughed, but went back in for another kiss.

Ava let herself get lost in kissing Sara for a few minutes, but then forced herself to refocus. 

“No, seriously, I want to get Zari’s car back before it’s too late. You said she likes me, I’d like to keep it that way,” Ava said pushing Sara away. 

Sara tilted her head to the side with a smirk. “Are you worried about my friends liking you?”

Ava bit her lip nervously. “Maybe,” she admitted. “A little.”

“Well, don’t. Jax already liked you before last night, but he’ll be your biggest champion since he’s seen your beer pong skills and your palm strike. And Zari comes across gruff, but she’s really a softie. I mean, let’s not crash her car on the way to her house, but you’re good,” Sara assured her. “Anyway, I like you, no matter what they think. I can think for myself.”

Ava blushed, but couldn’t stop her smile. “You like me.” It wasn’t said as a question, and the more time she spent with Sara, the less weird it all seemed, but it was nice to hear and to say with confidence. 

Sara grinned in reply. “Kind of a lot, in case that hasn’t been apparent,” she confirmed, reaching out and hooking her fingers through Ava’s, pulling her in for another kiss. 

Ava kissed her back, then pulled away again. “The car?”

Sara sighed. “Okay, okay, fiiine. We’ll return her stupid car.”

  
  
  


“I can’t believe you let my dad talk you into coming for dinner this week,” Sara groaned. “He’ll be wanting to meet your parents next.”

“He was so nice and excited about the idea,” Ava replied. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Zari lives like a block away from you!”

Sara grinned. “Well, then you wouldn’t have needed me for directions and I wouldn’t have gotten to see your beautiful face this morning,” she retorted. 

Ava rolled her eyes, but had to smile. “So which house is it?”

“The yellow one. There.”

Ava shook her head. No wonder Zari had been willing to bring them breakfast yesterday morning. She’d probably walked. “Seriously she lives so close.”

Sara grinned. “I know. Hey, have you heard from Amaya this morning?”

“She texted saying she was feeling better and she wasn’t ever drinking punch again.”

Sara laughed as Ava pulled into Zari’s driveway. 

“You want to just give her the keys and I’ll walk back to your place for my car?” Ava asked, not really ready to say goodbye, but it didn’t take two of them to return Zari’s car. 

“No. Come on,” Sara said, opening her door and getting out of the car. She looked expectantly at Ava, who got out, too. She looked uncertainly at the house and offered Sara the car keys. 

Sara shook her head. “You drove. You return them. Her family doesn’t bite. I promise.”

Ava followed Sara to the door, and waited anxiously as Sara knocked out a rhythm on the door. 

“I’ve got it!” Ava heard Zari yell from inside and a moment later the door opened. “Morning, you two. How’s my car?”

Ava held out the keys and Zari took them, looking past her to the car. 

“Your baby is fine. Don’t worry,” Sara said, pushing past Zari into the house. She motioned for Ava to follow, but Ava wasn’t so sure. 

“You two didn’t get up to anything I wouldn’t want to know about in my car, did you?”

“No,” Ava assured her.

“Okay, well, thanks for getting her home in one piece,” Zari said, stepping back and holding the door open invitingly. 

“Thanks for taking care of Amaya last night. You really didn’t have to. She’s my best friend, I wouldn’t have minded,” Ava said as she stepped tentatively into Zari’s home. 

“She’s my friend, too, you know. Besides I wasn’t the one of us on a date.”

Zari’s home was bright and cheerful with family photos lining the hallway just off the entranceway. Unlike in Sara’s house where traces of her sister were conspicuously absent, pictures of Zari’s brother seemed to be everywhere. Ava wondered briefly if it was painful or comforting for Zari to see his smiling face around her every day. Ava could hear what sounded like people banging around in the kitchen and the smell of spices and cooked meat that wafted towards her made her mouth water.

She followed Zari partway down the hallway then up a set of stairs and down another hallway to a good-sized room that, in contrast to the rest of the house, had dim lights and the curtains drawn. This was clearly in aid of being able to better see the large screen that had a paused video game on it. Sara was already sitting in a comfy-looking chair, with Amaya sitting in one beside her, looking a lot better than she had the night before. Ava was kind of surprised to find out she was still there. 

“Hey,” she greeted her. 

Amaya smiled warmly. “Hi. How was the rest of your date? Sorry I drank too much. I should’ve known about the punch.”

“It didn’t taste that alcoholic,” Ava replied. “And my date was great. Don’t worry. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, yeah, everyone is a sap and everyone is happy for everyone else. Lance if you touch that controller I will hurt you. I was about to kick Amaya’s butt.”

Sara pulled her hand back from the controller and held her hands up with a grin. 

Amaya laughed. “She wishes. She’s just mad I’m beating her while hungover even though I’d never played this before yesterday.”

Zari tapped on Sara and indicated she should move out of her chair, which she did with an eye roll, moving to Zari’s bed. 

“It’s called beginner’s luck,” Zari grumbled, falling into the vacated seat. “It’s bound to wear off soon.”

“It’s cute that you think so,” Amaya replied.    
Ava stood there awkwardly watching everyone else be so at ease in this space which was brand new to her. She didn’t know where to sit or what to touch, or even if it would be all right if she looked around a bit. She didn’t know Zari that well. She glanced around and when she looked back Zari was looking at her with one eyebrow raised. 

“You can come in further. I don’t bite. I make no promises about Lance, but somehow I don’t think you’d mind.”

Ava blushed and moved towards the bed. 

“Ugh, I did not need to give myself that mental image,” Zari complained, making a face. 

Amaya and Sara laughed, but Ava still felt self-conscious.

Sara patted the bed beside her. “Don’t mind her, she’s a softie at heart,” Sara assured Ava as she took a seat beside her. Sara ran a comforting hand over Ava’s back, rubbing gentle circles. 

Ava relaxed into the touch. 

“I’m not a softie,” Zari countered with a glare as she picked up her controller and unpaused. Amaya and Zari resumed their game that Ava had never played and found it difficult to follow, but the graphics were mesmerizing. 

“She is, too,” Sara said. “Her sarcastic asshole persona masks her heart of gold and tendency to cry during the happy ending parts of movies.”

“Says the girl with so little chill she had her girlfriend bring her the block and a half to my house just to spend more time with her,” Zari shot back without looking at her. 

Amaya, however turned and looked at Sara curiously, and Ava noticed the way that Sara’s hand momentarily froze its circles on her back.

“Actually you know what? That’s not even it. She’s got chill she’s just lazy. She was probably planning on coming over and doing homework like most Sundays and she didn’t want to walk,” Zari said, still not turning around. 

Ava felt Sara’s hand start moving again. Slower this time. 

“This is true, however my girlfriend is distracting enough I forgot my books,” Sara replied. 

“Guess you’re walking after all, Lance,” Zari said, only half paying attention. “Ha!” Zari declared a moment later, dropping her remote triumphantly, and Ava frowned as Sara let her hand drop back to her lap. 

“I let you win,” Amaya said. “And I was distracted.”

“Sure, sure. We can rematch another day. Today I won!”

Ava laughed as Amaya narrowed her eyes at Zari. She’d seen Amaya’s competitive edge brought out before, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen it quite like this. 

“My plan to be lazy also backfired because my dad is home today,” Sara informed them. “So now Ava is coming to dinner sometime this week to face the interrogator.”

“I survived the interrogator. He’s not too bad as long as he decides he likes you early on,” Zari informed Ava. “Is he being weepy Quentin or trying Quentin?” she asked Sara. 

“Trying Quentin,” she replied. 

Zari made a face. “I almost prefer weepy Quentin. That forced smile is painful and a little Joker-esque.”

Ava knew what she meant, but didn’t dare agree, even though Sara was nodding her agreement.

Amaya, on the other hand, looked confused. “Weepy Quentin?”

Ava looked to Sara. She’d forgotten that Amaya didn’t know about Laurel. Zari, usually quick to answer without a care, was looking silently at Sara, too. 

“My sister died last year and sometimes my dad gets stuck in his grief and other times he tries to overcompensate for it,” Sara said, not going into any more details.

“I’m so sorry! That’s horrible! Gosh, that seems inadequate,” Amaya replied. 

“It is, but don’t worry. We in the dead relatives club get that there’s nothing good to say. We’ve heard it all a thousand times anyway. You get kinda numb to it after a while,” Zari explained. 

“True,” Sara agreed. 

Amaya’s sadness was written across her face and Zari must have noticed it, too, because she put a comforting hand on Amaya’s back. 

Amaya looked at Ava, clearly trying to gauge how much she knew. Ava didn’t want to meet her gaze. This wasn’t her story to tell and Amaya might be her best friend, but she’d never spill something, especially something like this, told to her in confidence. 

“Is it...Can I ask how? I don’t want to pry. No need to tell me if you don’t want to, I just...How old was she?”

Ava had never bothered to ask. Based on the pictures she’d seen they were close in age. 

“Nineteen. She was home from college for the summer and...an enemy of my dad’s decided to settle his grudge with her life.”

Amaya looked shocked and horrified. Zari turned away, her brows furrowed. Ava reached out and took Sara’s hand. 

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. What was her name?” Amaya asked. 

“Laurel,” Sara replied. 

“That’s a beautiful name,” Amaya said. 

“Thanks.”

An awkward silence settled on the group and Ava could tell that Amaya was kind of regretting having pried. She hadn’t meant any harm by it, though, and Ava felt sure that Sara would’ve found a way to deflect and divert the conversation if she hadn’t wanted to answer. Maybe it was nice for her to get to talk about her sister. She must miss her horribly and Ava knew she was unlikely to bring her up at home. 

“What was she like?” Ava asked. They’d talked about the circumstances of her death, but Ava realized she knew very little about Laurel the person. 

“She was...bossy,” Sara replied with a chuckle, a fond smile gracing her features as she stared off into a memory that Ava couldn’t see. “She was always trying to tell me what to do because at two and a half years older she thought she knew best. And, okay, often she did, not that I wanted to hear it.” Sara chuckled again. “She had her devious side, too, though. There was no one better to lie to Mom and Dad. She was the good one so Mom rarely questioned her. My dad wasn’t so gullible with his cop instinct, but he always wanted to believe the best in us. And she bailed me out of trouble more times than I could count. When I was fourteen my dad found pot in my sock drawer and Laurel said Ollie, her boyfriend, had asked me to keep it for him and I had no idea what it was. She was banned from seeing him for a month but she never sold me out.”

Ava squeezed Sara’s hand again and Sara squeezed it back, her gaze dropping to their hands. 

“I’ve never heard you say so much about her at once,” Zari commented. 

“She sounds like a great big sister,” Amaya offered. 

“She was,” Sara agreed. She extracted her hand from Ava’s and muttered, “and I let her down.”

“No you didn’t!” Ava and Zari argued in unison. Zari’s voice had the tired quality of someone who’s had this argument more than once. 

Sara shook her head and put on a forced smile. “Doesn’t matter. Anyway, thanks for listening to me blabber on about her. I don’t get to do that much.”

“I’ll listen any time,” Ava replied sincerely. 

Silence settled on them again for a few minutes, and then a thought struck Ava. “Wait, how did you guys know I didn’t spend the night at Sara’s?”

“Because unlike you, who waited until a reasonable hour this morning to text Amaya and check in, some people are jerks who text in the middle of the damn night,” Zari said, shooting Sara a pointed glare. 

“I said I was sorry for waking you up!” Sara replied. 

“You didn’t apologize to Amaya. You woke her up, too,” Zari informed her. 

“Sorry, Amaya,” Sara said. 

“Wait, you two shared a bed?” Ava asked. 

“Well, I thought about putting her in the guest room and risking her choking on her vomit in the night, but I decided not to be a negligent asshole and suggested she stay with me,” Zari replied. 

“Point,” Ava admitted. “Did you puke?” she asked Amaya. 

Anaya shook her head. “I was okay in the end. What I really needed was sleep.”

“Again, sorry,” Sara said. She stood and stretched. “Well, I really DO have homework to do, and since I left it at home, I should probably go get it.”

“I’ll be here,” Zari replied with a wave. 

“I should head out, too,” Amaya said. “Thanks for last night,” she said to Zari, placing a kiss on Zari’s cheek. 

It was something she’d have done with Ava or another friend, so Ava wasn’t quite sure why it made her briefly question the nature of their relationship. But Amaya was straight. She’d always been straight at least. And Zari was nice but also kind of gruff. She shook her head and stood up as well. 

“Thanks for letting me drive your car.”

“Thanks for not crashing her,” Zari replied.

“See you tomorrow?” Ava said. 

“I have a feeling that lunch with you guys is gonna be a regular thing now that you and Sara are attached at the hip, so yep,” Zari replied. She gave Ava a little wave. 

Ava hesitated, looking at Amaya. Should she wait for her or go after Sara? Amaya was gathering her clothes from the night before. She could catch up. 

Ava hurried after Sara, who was waiting for her just down the hall. 

“Did you really think I’d leave without you when you have to walk back to my house to get your car?”

“You know I should’ve realized how close Zari lived when you said I shouldn’t worry about getting back for it. I assumed you meant Zari would drop us back off or something.” 

Sara shrugged and winked, then pulled Ava into a kiss. 

Ava smiled into the kiss, and then remembered that they were in someone else’s house. She hadn’t met any of the other family members. They probably wouldn’t appreciate her making out with Sara in their hallway.

They made it down the driveway and two houses down before Ava caught Sara’s hand and spun her into another kiss. Sara stumbled a few steps backwards with a giggle, bringing Ava with her. 

“Not that you should care, but you’re getting glares from some elderly women dressed in church clothes,” Amaya said, coming to a stop beside them. 

Sara broke the kiss and looked around, then gave the scowling ladies a wink and cocked a finger pistol at them. 

They huffed and muttered under their breath, but moved along.

“Give me a ride home,” Amaya asked Ava. 

Ava nodded. “Sure.”

“I suppose that means I have to stop making out with you,” Sara said with a small pout. 

It was so adorable that Ava had to kiss her again. “Probably,” she agreed regretfully as she pulled away.

Again Ava was struck by how much she didn’t want to leave Sara’s presence. Again she reminded herself that some space would be good. She couldn’t resist one more quick kiss, then broke away and starts walking. Amaya and Sara fell into step on either side of her. 

It was stupid to think she was going to miss Sara, she told herself. After all, she’d see her tomorrow morning at school. 

School. The thought hit her hard. Somehow this weekend with Sara, combined with skipping school on Friday, had felt like it’s own magical little cocoon around them. Okay, they’d seen Zari and Amaya a lot, and then a whole bunch of people at the party last night, but it had felt separate from the everyday grind of school and class and cafeteria lunches and homework.

It had felt special. 

She couldn’t help but wonder how they’d transfer back into school life now they were dating.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava experiences her first day of school as Sara's girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for syd. 
> 
> I've got a sick little guy at home, who is being kind enough to nap long enough for me to post this chapter, but depending on how long his illness lasts and how he is, I'm not sure when I'll next get to post. I certainly haven't been able to get any writing done today, so I hope you'll all bear with me if it's a little while. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Sara was waiting for her at her locker on Monday morning. It was cliche and yet, Ava realized, really nice. She smiled as soon as she saw her. 

“Morning, Sunshine,” Sara greeted her, leaning in for a quick kiss. 

Ava glanced around after it, but nobody was paying them any extra attention. 

She grinned at Sara. “Morning.”

“How was your night?”

“Didn’t we text right before bed last night?” Ava asked. 

Sara grinned and shrugged. “You could’ve then slept like crap.”

“I didn’t,” Ava replied. She had slept really well and had a VERY pleasant dream that she had been incredibly disappointed to wake up from and also that she was not about to relay to Sara, especially not in the hallways at school. 

“Is this gonna be an everywhere thing now? Should I start carrying a barf bag with me so I can handle all the adorable leaning in to each other making heart eyes crap?” Zari asked coming up beside them. Amaya was beside her. 

Ava rolled her eyes. “I think you’ll cope.”

Zari raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you getting ballsier it is it just my imagination?”

“She was always ballsy. She’s just getting comfortable enough with you to let you see it,” Amaya informed her. 

“I think it’s sexy,” Sara said, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her another quick kiss. 

Much to Ava’s disappointment the warning bell rang for their first class. 

Sara sighed. “Catch you later, Sunshine?”

“Lunch?” Ava suggested. 

“Can’t wait,” Sara said with a grin. 

“I can, but I’ll see you there anyway,” Zari said. 

Amaya was in her first class of the day so they headed off together. 

“Feel real yet?” Amaya asked. 

Ava shook her head. “Sort of? It’s weird to be in a relationship in school.”

“Especially with Sara?”

“If you’d asked me a week ago? Yes. Today?” Ava shrugged. 

Amaya stopped walking and looked at her. Ava stopped, too. 

“What?” Ava demanded. 

“You’ve really fallen hard.”

Ava scowled. “I told you that.”

“I know, I just didn’t realize how hard.”

Ava rolled her eyes, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “Come on, we’ve gotta get to class,” she said, starting on down the hallway again without waiting to check that Amaya was coming. 

  
  


The number of curious looks she’d gotten and whispers she’d overheard with her name in them by lunchtime assured Ava that going to the party over the weekend with Sara was as good as announcing her coming out over the loudspeaker at school. 

“Hey, slayer!” someone hollered in her direction from a group of guys as she headed for the cafeteria. 

Slayer? Like lady slayer? Ava shrugged to herself as she entered the cafeteria, picked up a tray, and got in line for food. 

“Oh look, there she is. She’s, like, completely psychotic. Better keep your distance!”

Ava didn’t have to look around to know who was talking this time. She rolled her eyes. Guinevere. Of course. 

“Hey, Sunshine,” Sara purred in her ear. 

Ava’s scowl instantly turned into a smile as she turned to see her. “Hey, yourself.”

Sara grinned back at her. 

“I dunno, I heard he was being a total ass,” a voice floated into Ava’s consciousness from the same direction that Guinevere’s had come from. 

“You know, I don’t know what’s bigger news: me and you or your right hook,” Sara informed her. 

“My right ho-? Oh! The douche from the party! That was a palm strike,” Ava replied as her brain clicked about the recent comments she’d overheard. 

Sara laughed. “Not according to the rumors.”

Ava frowned. “You know, it seemed like a good idea in the moment, but it’s not really how I want to be known in school.”

Sara shrugged. “Well, we could give them a good PDA and sway the conversation back to us, but Gordie’s nose looks pretty impressive.”

Ava cringed guiltily. “You’ve seen him?” Somehow knowing his name made her feel worse about it. 

“In first period. I heard him try to tell some guy he got it in a bar fight, but the truth has gotten around,” Sara informed her. “So was that a no to the PDA idea?”

Ava laughed. She had to admit she was tempted. “Maybe not in the lunch line?” she suggested as she scooted forward. 

One of the women behind the counter scowled at her, and she stiffened ever-so-slightly until they’d moved past. 

“On the table when we sit down?” Sara suggested.

Ava’s eyes went wide as she tuned back into Sara and absorbed her words. “ON the table?” Ava echoed. 

“We could make quite the scene,” Sara said with a wink and a smirk. 

Ava tried not to imagine it. She swallowed hard and eyed the lump of cafeteria meat now on her tray. As far as things that were not remotely sexy, that was pretty high on the list. She’d never appreciated it more. 

They finished getting food and made their way to a table where Amaya was already seated and sat down beside her. Ava spared a glare for Guinevere, who pretended not to notice, on the way. 

“Is that still a no?” Sara asked with a smirk that part of Ava wanted nothing more than to kiss right off her face. Given some of the looks they’d gotten as they’d made their way across the cafeteria together, it was probably better that she abstain. 

Before she could answer Amaya asked, “Is what still a no?”

“Ava here is worried she’ll be remembered as a brawler rather than the brain that she is since word of her heroic takedown at the party has spread, so I chivalrously offered to help her distract everyone from her mad fight skills by making out with her in the cafeteria.”

Amaya looked amused. “Chivalrously, huh?”

Sara grinned at her. 

“Yo,” Jax greeted them, plopping his tray down across the table from them. He looked at Ava. “You know you’re the talk of the school?”

Ava blushed. “Not really something I ever aspired to, unless it was for like a perfect score on the SATs and all my APs.”

Sara patted her on the back and Jax laughed. 

“Don’t worry. It’s high school. Everyone will have found something else to talk about in a few weeks,” Zari said, taking a seat beside Jax. 

“Z’s right,” Jax agreed. 

“What’s everyone talking about?” Ronnie asked, dropping his tray beside Zari’s. Caitlin was right beside him. 

“Ava’s new status as Lady Killer and Man Slugger,” Zari replied. 

Ava groaned and put her head in her hands. 

“Don’t worry. Almost everyone knows he was asking for it,” Caitlin assured her.

“And I’ve heard more than a few people refer to you as badass,” Ronnie added. 

“Who? Ava?” Kendra asked, joining them. She cozied up to Jax who grinned and put an arm around her. “I’m so bummed I missed that punch. Gordie tried hitting on me at a party last year and would NOT take no for an answer. In the end I grabbed a friend and we left just to get away from him.”

“It was a palm strike,” Ava mumbled digging into her food. It was...edible. 

Sara rubbed small comforting circles on her back and Ava leaned towards her. 

“It really will blow over soon,” Sara promised in her ear. 

Ava nodded. 

“And my offer still stands. I’ll make out with you any time, anywhere.”

Ava laughed. “Okay. Also not necessarily what I want my reputation to be, but it does sound enticing,” she admitted. 

Sara grinned at her and tucked her chin over her shoulder. She reached around Ava and stole a tater tot off her plate. 

“Hey!” Ava protested, swatting a second too late at Sara’s hand as Sara popped her stolen prize into her mouth with a grin. “Those are the only thing that actually taste good!”

“I think this meat’s okay!” Jax said. 

The conversation turned to the pros and cons of cafeteria lunches and the supposed healthy lunch initiative that was supposed to start next year. 

As the conversation went on, Ava became aware of the tables around them filling up far more than usual. On top of that, she realized, people from those tables started contributing to their conversation, turning around and eating facing out towards them to more be part of the group. 

She looked around and realized that there were others who were perched more on the fringe of the group. They looked like they wanted to be a part of the group or the conversation, but weren’t quite sure how. 

It was weird. 

Not that it happened. She’d seen it happen before, but always from the perspective of being across the cafeteria and looking up from a book to notice it happening. This time she was smack dab in the middle of it. She was one of the people that people were angling to spend time with. What was more, it didn’t seem like it was entirely because she was with Sara. She noted a few admiring looks from some of the girls whose eyes she caught and some of the guys gave her an approving nod. 

Was this how it felt to be popular? It was...a little uncomfortable, really, but not necessarily bad. Just kind of strange. 

“Yeah, but come on. Give us a break! Who really needs healthy crap every day? Give me steak slathered in gravy, mashed potatoes with plenty of butter, and a smoke and leave me to my little pleasures,” a heavily accented voice added to the conversation. 

Ava looked in the direction of the speaker and, as she’d suspected, was met with the lanky blonde form of Constantine, leaning with his elbow on his knee and his foot up on the bench just at the edge of their table. 

Ava felt jealousy curl inside her, knotting up her stomach. She slid an arm around Sara’s waist and pulled her closer. 

Sara turned to her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

Ava acted innocent and shrugged. There was no need for Sara to know she was jealous of an ex. 

Sara cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

Ava leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. She wanted to allay her suspicions, but her eyes flashed to Constantine after she’d done it to see if he’d seen. 

He was grinning annoyingly at them and shot her a wink. 

Ava blushed. She must not have been being as subtle as she thought she was. A moment later when Sara turned a smirk on her, she knew she was right. 

“Are you jealous?” Sara leaned in really close to murmur in her ear. Her hot breath tickled Ava’s skin. 

“No!” Ava replied, but even to her ears it had been too emphatic. 

Sara chuckled. “Don’t be,” she purred, then placed a slow deliberate kiss on Ava’s cheek. 

So much for no PDAs Ava thought as she turned to capture Sara’s lips with her own. She just couldn’t help herself with Sara. 

A wolf whistle brought her back to reality and they broke apart. Ava blushed deeper. 

“Layoff, perv!” Zari barked. 

Ava shot her an appreciative look, but she just shrugged. 

Jax and Ronnie were both looking around with warning glares, too. 

It was definitely weird. Maybe just because everything felt like it had changed so quickly, but it wasn’t bad. Ava had new people who were looking out for her. New people who had her back. Maybe she was under more scrutiny than she ever had been, but she had more backup, too. 

She leaned forward and caught Amaya’s eye. She raised an eyebrow at her and Amaya nodded and smiled in return. She was adapting, too, but maybe this was okay. 

  
  
  


_ You okay? _

Ava glanced at Sara after reading what she’d scrawled in her Physics notebook. Sara looked concerned. 

_ Yeah, why? _ she wrote back. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her that let her know that she didn’t buy her innocent act for a second. 

_ Been kind of a busy social day for you. _

When Ava leaned forward to read the words, Sara didn’t move away. Their heads bumped gently and Ava was overwhelmed with the sweet floral scent of Sara’s shampoo. She did her best not to swoon. 

_ Are you calling me antisocial? _

Sara chuckled and bumped her shoulder against Ava’s. 

_ Never. _ Sara hesitated, her pen hovering above the page, then she added,  _ I just want to make sure everyone else doesn’t scare you away. _

Ava’s brows furrowed. Scare her away? Sara was worried that other people could chase her off so easily? Did Sara not get how much she liked her?

“I’m not scared off,” she whispered. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. 

Ava looked around and noticed about half the class glancing their way. She’d been louder than she meant to be. 

_ I’m NOT! _ She underlined the word “not” three times for emphasis. 

Sara grinned. 

_ Good. Walk you home after school? _

_ It’s a date _ . Ava wrote back. She tried to draw a winky face beside it, but it looked slightly deformed. 

Sara giggled and Ava decided that slightly deformed winky faces were just fine. 

Neither one of them paid any attention to the icy stare that Guinevere spent the class giving them. 

  
  
  


“So my dad wants to know if Thursday works for you to come over to dinner,” Sara said as they strolled slowly, hand-in-hand. “Feel free to say no. Then we can just reschedule for next week. Or the week after. Or never. I’m good with never.”

Ava laughed. “Thursday is fine.”

“You say that now, but when you show up for the interrogation don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“He can’t be that bad,” Ava said. 

“I guarantee you he’s already run you through the system to see if you have any priors or so much as a parking ticket,” Sara informed her. 

“Well, I don’t. That ought to allay some of his fears.”

Sara considered this for a moment. “You are more of a good girl than I usually go for.”

“Having second thoughts?” Ava joked, but she felt a twinge of anxiety knot in her gut. 

“Not at all,” Sara replied, tugging on her hand and spinning her into a kiss. 

Ava wrapped her arms around Sara, momentarily forgetting that they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk only a few blocks from her house. 

“Sooooo,” Sara said when they broke apart. 

Ava waited for her to continue and, when she didn’t right away, prompted, “Yes?”

“When are we going to tell your parents that I’m not just your friend?”

Ava hesitated. It wasn’t like she wasn’t out to her parents and Sara knew that. It wasn’t like she was embarrassed to be Sara’s girlfriend, either. Quite the opposite. It was just...whenever she’d introduced a girl as her girlfriend before, her parents got weird. Her mom especially. 

It was almost as if they accepted her being gay in theory, but not in practice. 

Maybe that wasn’t fair. Maybe they’d have acted just as weird if she’d ever introduced a guy as her boyfriend. Maybe it was just the prospect of her dating anyone that freaked them out. 

Her dad wasn’t so bad. He just had this way of lingering as he walked through a room she was in with a girlfriend and telling as many horrible jokes as possible. Her mom, though…

It was as if her mom might poke her head around the corner at any second trying to catch them in the act of...Well, Ava wasn’t quite sure, really. It wasn’t as if she was prone to making out with girls in the living room when her parents were home and she and Emily had only ever had sex at Emily’s house, never hers. 

Then there was the open door policy. If she had a girlfriend in her room she was supposed to leave her door open. It was stupid. Especially now she was seventeen. She’d be eighteen in a few months and graduating and going off to college. She definitely wouldn’t have an open door policy at college, so why now? Wasn’t high school supposed to prep her for being off at college?

“No rush, or anything,” Sara said with a frown. “I get it if you don’t want-“

“Hey!” Ava cut her off. “No. That’s not- My parents are weird. If we’re dating we can’t be alone in my room with the door shut. You think I’ll be interrogated by your dad, but you’ll get interrogated by both of my parents and I’m pretty sure the words ‘what are your intentions with my daughter?’ will be uttered. I want the whole world to know I’m with you, it’s just I don’t want my parents to be the way they are when I date someone.”

Sara hesitated and then she smirked. “The whole world?”

Ava blushed. “You know what I mean.”

“Enlighten me,” Sara prompted. 

“I just meant it’s not about you, it’s about them. I’m happy we’re dating.” 

“Uh-huh,” Sara said. “And if someone like...I dunno...Constantine gets to see us being very together all the better?”

Ava blushed deeper. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. You know, Sunshine, you are very good at a great many things, but lying is not one of them.”

Ava made a face. “Okay, I know it’s stupid and petty, but I kinda of hate him for having gotten to see you naked.”

Sara chuckled. “So you hate everyone who’s ever seen me naked?”

“On principle? Yes,” Ava confirmed. 

Sara laughed again. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

Ava pouted. “I’m not cute and I’m not jealous.”

“You’re both, but don’t worry, Constantine is no Ava Sharpe. He was a fun shag. You’re my girlfriend.”

Ava’s breath hitched. “Girlfriend?”

“Haven’t we covered this already?” Sara asked. 

“You might have used the word a handful of times, but we’ve never really properly talked about it.”

Sara considered this for a second. “True, I suppose, but I do tend to mean what I say.” 

“So I am your girlfriend?”

“If you’re interested in the job, it’s yours,” Sara replied. 

“And nobody else’s?” Ava hated that she felt the need to ask. She tried to say it as if she was just kidding around, but the look Sara shot her way suggested she didn’t succeed. 

“Nobody else’s,” Sara confirmed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve kind of spent all of my spare time recently with you. I don’t have time for somebody elses.”

True, Ava thought. That didn’t mean she didn’t have interest in somebody else, though. Then again, she hadn’t given any indication that she WAS interested in anybody else. Ava decided she’d acted insecure enough for one short walk home. 

“Okay, girlfriend, how about we tackle your dad Thursday and you come for Sunday dinner with my family? Is that too much?”

“I see how it is. You want to see how it goes with my dad first. I’m onto you, Miss Sharpe!” 

Ava laughed. “That’s not it at all.”

Sara grinned. “Thursday dinner with my dad and Sunday dinner with your parents. How domestic.”

Ava cringed. “It IS too much.”

Sara shook her head and squeezed Ava’s hand. “No. It’s good. It’s...Do you think your parents will still like me once they know I’m interested in you in a not-so-platonic way?”

“You mean that you want to sleep with their precious little daughter?” Ava teased. There was truth to her words, though, she knew. Her parents still thought of her, to some extent, as the same little girl who’d gone on quests as King Arthur in the backyard. 

“That’s a little cocky of you,” Sara teased back. 

“So you’re saying you DON’T want to sleep with me?” Ava challenged. 

Sara turned to face her, forcing Ava to stop abruptly. Sara fixed her with a look that made her feel weak in the knees, slid a hand into her hair and pulled her in for a slow, deep kiss. When she pulled away, she rested her forehead against Ava’s. “No, I DEFINITELY want to sleep with you. I meant that your parents think you’re precious,” she added with a gleam in her eye. 

With that, she took off running towards Ava’s house before Ava could react. 

“Heeeey!” Ava protested and took off after her laughing. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaya is supportive, Ava is adorably awkward, Quentin tries to go all out, and Sara tries to repress her parental annoyance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So last week after I posted I ended up in the hospital overnight with my son, who is now, fortunately, doing a lot better (if newly afraid of doctors and strangers who might want to listen to his chest). Needless to say, though, that my already limited time has been nonexistent for about the past week. I still have a few chapter cushion, but they're not the longest, so just prepare yourselves for slower updates, and thank you in advance for your patience. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

“This is stupid. It’s stupid, right? I mean I’ve already met him. Why am I so anxious?”

Ava was pacing her bedroom floor in her fourth outfit of the evening. Right now the look was a nice-ish v-neck with a pair of jeans. She was deciding if it was too casual or not. She’d barely been able to focus on her homework when she’d gotten him from school. All she’d been able to think about was dinner with Quentin Lance. 

Amaya gave her a sympathetic look from where she was perched on the end of her bed. “Because she matters to you.”

Ava stopped and looked at herself in the mirror with a frown. “We’ve been dating less than a week.”

“Uh-huh,” Amaya agreed coming to stand behind Ava, “and you’re scared by how much she matters to you already, but that doesn’t change my answer.”

Ava glared at her. “You’re obnoxious when you’re like this.”

Amaya grinned and gave her a hug from behind, resting her chin on Ava’s shoulder. “You love me. And you will be fine. Sara’s dad is going to see just how wonderful you are just like Sara does.”

Ava smiled a small smile. “Thanks.”

Amaya nodded and returned to her spot on the bed. 

“You really think she thinks I’m wonderful?”

Amaya rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “Ava, if you can’t see the way she looks at you, I can’t help you.”

Ava smiled broader this time. She knew the look Amaya meant. It was the look that made her stomach do flips and her knees feel weak. It was the look that always made her want to lean in and kiss her hard and never stop. 

“Do you think we’re moving too fast?”

“I think it’s a miracle you haven’t slept together yet,” Amaya replied. 

“Hey! I have self-control!” Ava said defensively. 

“Not around her,” Amaya countered. 

Ava glared, but she knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on so she went back to her initial question. “I just mean with the meeting the parents and everything…”

“Technically you’ve already met her dad and your parents already like her,” Amaya pointed out. 

“Yeah, before they thought she might be sleeping with their daughter.”

Amaya nodded sympathetically. “I think it’s hard for parents to think of their kids as growing up. You’ve seen my dad when he even thinks I might be thinking about dating someone.”

“Group outings only, Amaya! You are too young to be thinking about boys. Focus on your studies. They will get your further in life than a man will,” Ava did a pretty spot-on imitated Amaya’s dad and they both started laughing. 

“Exactly,” Amaya said. 

“He’s not wrong,” Ava said. 

“That I’m too young to be dating?”

“More the bit about an education being more useful than a guy.”

Amaya nodded. “True.  Anyway, my point is that, okay, maybe your parents will be a little more curious about your relationship because they feel protective of you, but at least she’s started out on the right foot. They like her. Try to focus on that.”

“Any brilliant tips for making her dad like me?” Ava asked. 

Amaya smiled at her. “Yes. Be yourself.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Some advice.”

Amaya chuckled. “It’s the best advice. You’re pretty likeable. Now come on. Get going. Ava Sharpe is never late. Don’t start tonight.”

“Maybe I should put that second outfit back on?”

Amaya stood, turned Ava towards her door and gave her a little shove. “Go. Now. You look perfect.”

  
  
  


_ I’m here. _ Ava texted a heads up to Sara. She was not overly motivated to get out of the car and walk up to the house, though. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her palms were clammy and her chest felt so tight she wasn’t sure she was breathing properly. Maybe she should go to the hospital instead of dinner. 

Before she could even attempt to decide that, the front door opened and Sara leaned out, giving her a curious look. She had her phone in hand and typed something into it. A moment later, Ava’s phone buzzed 

_ Are you coming in? Or should we do dinner in your car? _

Ava smiled despite her nerves. She took a deep breath and got out of the car. She moved quickly, but awkwardly to Sara, as if she’d forgotten how to walk normally and Sara smirked at her as she approached. 

“Nervous?” Sara asked when she reached her, leaning over for a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“No,” Ava lied. 

“Liar,” Sara replied. “Don’t worry. We can bail if he becomes too insufferable.”

“He’ll really like me then,” Ava said sarcastically. 

Sara laughed. “I did ask him to keep the interrogating to a minimum. He got all defensive and said all he wanted was a nice dinner.” Sara rolled her eyes to show her disbelief and Ava smiled meekly. 

Sara put a comforting hand on her lower back as they turned to walk inside. “Ready?” she asked. 

“No.”

Sara leaned over and kissed her on the cheek again. “I like you no matter what,” she whispered, and before Ava could react she was being guided through the doorway into the house. 

Quentin looked up from the counter where he was vigorously chopping carrots. “Ava! So glad you could make it!”

He set down his knife and brushed his hands off on his apron which read “Less Whine, More Wine”, and walked around the peninsula of counter that divided the living room from the kitchen to greet her. 

His handshake was firm, and Ava felt like she needed to match his strength or she’d somehow fail a test, so she gripped firmly and plastered a smile on her face. “Thank you so much for having me,” she replied. “Dinner smells delicious.”

“Good grip, young lady,” Quentin said approvingly, glancing at their hands. He let go and headed back to the kitchen. “I hope you like chicken. I’ve made my famous chicken cacciatore! I was just putting together a salad here,” he added, picking the knife back up and resuming chopping. “Have a seat! Make yourself at home!” he invited, waving the hand with the knife in the vague direction of the couch. 

Ava tried not to notice how sharp the blade was. He wasn’t acting threatening, but she felt unnerved. 

“I’m sure my daughter can find it in herself to play hostess and get you a drink?” Quentin prompted a moment later. 

Sara glared at her dad and turned to Ava with an apologetic smile. “He’s really going all out. You okay?”

Ava nodded. Sara reached out and gave her hand a little squeeze. It made her feel a little bit better. 

“Do you want anything to drink?” Sara asked. 

“Water, please?” Ava suggested. Her mouth felt dry. 

Sara smiled. “Coming right up.” She gave a deep, dramatic bow that made Ava laugh. When she stood back up, already moving backwards, she shot Ava a wink. 

“So, Ava. Tell me a little bit about yourself,” Quentin invited as he dumped the chopped carrots into a salad bowl. 

“Dad!” Sara said in a warning voice. 

“What, am I not allowed to get to know your girlfriend a little bit?” he asked. “You don’t mind, do you, Ava?”

Sara walked back to her holding a glass of water. “Feel free to say you do,” she advised

Ava chuckled. “No, it’s fine. Umm...there’s not too much to tell. I’m an only child. My mom’s a digital archivist at the library and my dad’s an accountant.”

“And school? You like school?” Quentin asked. 

Ava nodded, but before she could respond, Sara said, “Ava’s going to be our valedictorian.”

She shot Ava a proud little smile that made Ava’s heart flutter. It was nice to be appreciated for her brain. She’d felt the urge to dumb herself down for a girl before, not that she’d ever given in. As Amaya had advised her earlier, she should be herself. She’d always tried to be. She was the type of girl who thought long division was fun so set up extra problems for herself neatly on graph paper when she was young. She wasn’t going to apologize for that.

“Valedictorian? That’s impressive!” Quentin replied.

“Well, that’s the goal, anyway,” Ava confirmed. “For now I’m just ahead of Ray Palmer with my weighted GPA because I’m taking one more AP than him. As long as I do that next year, I should be on track.”

Quentin looked genuinely impressed. “A girl who knows the value of an education. Very impressive. What’re you doing messing around with this one, then?” His tone was joking, but Sara didn’t look amused and Ava didn’t find it funny at all. 

“Sara values her education,” Ava replied defensively. 

“Oh yeah?” Quentin looked a little surprised. “Since when?”

“Dad,” Sara warned in a tired voice. 

Ava knew what the answer must be, but she didn’t dare say it. Bringing up Laurel and her death would not be a great way to start this dinner. Neither would the suggestion that Sara wanted to get away from Quentin’s way of dealing with Laurel’s death by going far away to college. 

“Okay, okay. I’m just teasing, honey. You were always bright. Remember when you wanted to be a doctor? I always believed you could do that,” Quentin replied. “Still could, if you set your mind to it.”

“She’s great in physics,” Ava said in an attempt to change the subject. “We’re actually working on a project together. It’s going great and the teacher is really impressed with our proposal. It was Sara’s idea. We’re going to go to an amusement park and apply physics to the rides.”

Quentin looked surprised once more. “Amusement park? What so you’re riding roller coasters for school these days?”

“Well, physics is kind of the basis for all amusement park rides,” Sara pointed out. 

Quentin seemed to consider this. “You’re right. That’s pretty clever. You thought of that?”

Sara nodded, and Ava reached out to squeeze her hand. 

“Sara’s full of good ideas,” Ava said, her eyes trained on Sara. She liked the shy smile her comment elicited from her. 

“Well, I’m glad to hear she’s doing well here. The move was kind of abrupt and…” Quentin faded out and he stared into the middle distance at nothing in particular for a moment. He shook his head and snapped out of it, and offered a far-too forced smile at Ava. “Well, anyway it’s good to hear that she’s doing well academically, and I’m glad she’s found some responsible friends here.”

“He likes Zari,” Sara supplied in a hushed voice. “And Jax had him charmed the second he realized Jax has no romantic interest in me.”

“Did you say Jax? Great kid. Good athlete. He’s gonna go far,” Quentin chimed in. “Who will be offended if I leave cucumbers out of the salad?”

Ava shook her head. “I’m good.”

“Me. I’ll be heartbroken,” Sara replied in a deadpan voice.

Quentin chuckled and waved her off. “Okay, honey. Help me set the table, will you?”

Sara moved to comply and Ava felt her tension from the previous conversation start to drain away, as the topic changed back to food. 

“Now it’s been a while since I’ve made this, but it is -“ Quentin paused to kiss his fingers, then continued, “ _ delizioso _ , if I may say so myself.” 

“It’s pretty good,” Sara confirmed, placing forks around the table. 

“Pretty good?” Quentin scoffed. “It used to be your favorite!”

“Sara said you’re the one who taught her to cook. My parents are great cooks, but I never really thought to learn from them,” Ava admitted. 

“You don’t cook?” Quentin asked. 

“Cereal and baked potatoes,” Ava replied. 

“In the microwave,” Sara sold her out with a wink. 

“Well, now, come on! You need to know how to cook some things. You girls are going off to college in another year! How are you going to feed yourself if you can’t cook?” Quentin asked as he placed plates round the table. 

Sara laughed. “I’m pretty sure they have cafeterias still in college, Dad.”

“Well, yes, of course, but nothing beats a home cooked meal. Tell you what, you like dinner tonight, and you can come over some day and I’ll teach you how to cook it. Sara will help, won’t you, honey?”

“A day of cooking with my father and my girlfriend? Sure, that doesn’t sound hellish at all.”

“It could be fun,” Ava said, giving Sara a pointed look. 

Sara rolled her eyes. “As long as I get to steal you away for some of the day and have you all to myself, too,” Sara relented. 

Ava blushed deeply and Quentin looked momentarily uncomfortable, but the stove timer started beeping a moment later and he brightened again. “Dinner’s ready! I hope you brought your appetite. Come, sit.”

Ava joined Sara at the table. “Play nice,” she hissed. 

“He needs to, too,” Sara replied. 

“I meant with me! Now your dad’s going to think we’re sleeping together!”

Sara raised an eyebrow at her and looked amused. “Well, at some point in the not too distant future I hope we will be,” she pointed out in a hushed voice. 

“Your dad doesn’t need to know that!” Ava pointed out. 

Sara laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure he likes you so far.”

Ava sat back quickly as Quentin approached the table with a steaming skillet in one hand and a pot in the other. 

“Who’s hungry?” 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner goes more as feared than as planned, and Sara works out some frustration in a pretty healthy way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, sorry. Hopefully you enjoy it! I posted the first chapter of another one called "Stuck With You", too, if anyone is interested and unaware. I'm working on yet another one, too, but I want to finish posting one of the two I already have going before I start posting that one. Just know that I'm really excited about it, and hopefully you all will be too when the time comes to post!

Ava had to admit the food was delicious. Whatever faults Quentin Lance might have, he was an excellent cook. He had trouble turning off the cop in him, though. Sara hadn’t been kidding when she’d said dinner might feel more like an interrogation. It was a friendly, interrogation, though, and Quentin did his best to crack jokes when Sara called him out on it to ease the tension.

It was weird, though. Not unpleasant, exactly. It just felt like there was an elephant in the room that nobody dared talk about, but everyone was thinking about, and its name was Laurel. Ava was left wondering if Quentin knew that she knew, but she couldn’t ask Sara with him right there because she didn’t want to risk him turning into Weepy Quentin.

She gladly answered questions about school and their physics project, her parents, the city, and even her aunts and uncles, though Sara had glared hard at her father over that line of questioning. She could see the overprotective father instinct in him. She knew that Sara would be in for some of the same on Sunday even though her dad wasn’t a cop.  

Finally, Sara had had enough. “She’s a nice girl, Dad!” she exclaimed in an exasperated tone of voice. 

Quentin nodded. “I know that! I can tell. Well-spoken, obviously smart, and polite. You seem very sweet, Ava. I’m sorry. I’m a cop. It’s my job to look for the catch.”

“The catch is she’s dating me,” Sara replied. “I’m her bad judgment.”

Ava frowned. “Don’t say that. You’re amazing!” she protested at the same time that Quentin said, “Aw, honey, that’s not true. You’ve caused some trouble, but you’re a good kid.”

Sara flicked her eyes between the two of them and rolled her eyes.  

“See? Your girlfriend clearly cares about you, and I already said it was obvious that she’s smart,” Quentin declared. 

“Now I know where you get your unexpected sappiness from,” Ava said with a small giggle. 

“Sappy? My Sara?” Quentin looked surprised. 

Sara blushed and shook her head. “Not me.”

“I’m going to have to disagree,” Ava said. “You hide it well, but I’ve seen it.” 

“Name one instance,” Sara challenged. She had a gleam in her eye that suggested she knew that Ava was right, but that she wouldn’t be able to come up with an instance she’d repeat in front of her father. 

Sara might have been right. It wasn’t like she could talk about the cheesy comments from Saturday night when Sara was tipsy, especially since they’d been about the two of them having sex for the first time. 

“I’m drawing a blank,” Ava lied, “but I know I’ve seen it. You’re far more sentimental than your cool girl persona lets on at school.”

Sara considered this. “Sappy no, but sentimental...Maybe.”

“Definitely,” Ava countered. 

She’d seen it all week. School had been...interesting now that Ava was out to everyone there. Most of her peers didn’t seem to care, or were a bit envious. Some of them that she barely even knew had begun giving her judgmental looks in the halls. Then again, it was possible that that was because of Gordie’s newly rearranged face. 

She’d passed him in the hallway on Wednesday and he had slunk quietly to the opposite side of the hall without making eye contact. He had bad bruising under his eyes and around his nose. She’d felt a little bad, but not too bad. 

Whatever the reason for the newly aimed judgmental stares, Sara had always been quick to put a supportive hand on her waist, or a kiss on her temple, or simply to ask if she was okay. 

Ava had started leaning into her touches more and more. If people wanted to judge her for being with someone as amazing as Sara, let them judge. 

“Must make a strong young lady to make someone as strong as my Sara sentimental,” Quentin commented, bringing Ava back to the moment at hand. 

Ava shrugged. “Your daughter, I’ve learned, is the type of person who’s going to stand up for her friends. It’s not just for me. It’s part of what makes her amazing.”

Quentin studied her for a moment, then smiled the most genuine smile she’d seen him smile. 

Ava glanced at Sara, who was looking at her empty plate with an actual blush gracing her cheeks. 

“I’m glad to hear that,” Quentin said. “I’m glad Sara’s making strong connections here. For a while I was worried that after...Well, it doesn’t matter.” Quentin shook his head as if to shake away his thoughts, but Ava could see the tears that had sprung to his eyes. “Here, I’ll clear the table, you girls stay and relax.”

Quentin hopped up quickly, and began to gather up the dishes.  

“Thank you,” Ava said softly as he took her plate, feeling as if the mood in the room had once again shifted. She hadn’t meant it to. She’d just wanted Sara’s dad to know how special she knew Sara was. 

“Amazing, huh?” Sara murmured quietly with one eyebrow raised once Quentin was banging around in the kitchen. 

Ava shrugged. Suddenly she was self-conscious about her choice of words. “Well, you are.”

“Good to know I’ve got you fooled,” Sara said with a flirty wink.

Ava reached out a hand and put it on Sara’s arm where it was resting on the table. “Not fooled. You can’t fake the way you care.” 

Sara looked down at Ava’s hand, then leaned down and kissed it softly. “Maybe you’re just turning me into a sentimental softie?” she suggested. 

Ava grinned. “Somehow I doubt that.”

The girls looked up when Quentin came back to the table, and Ava was hoping to see the forced smile back on his face, but instead his expression was almost pained.  “I’m so glad Sara has found someone who cares for her so much,” he said, a tear slipping down his cheek only to be angrily brushed away. “Sorry. Sorry. I told myself I wouldn’t do this.”

“Dad,” Sara’s voice was both warning and tired. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but you know your sister would have liked her so much. They’d have been friends and you finally have this great girl in your life, you’re making a good romantic choice that would have fit in so well with the family, and she’s not here to see it.”

Ava grew increasingly uncomfortable as Quentin spoke and the tears began to spill down his cheeks. She didn’t have time to absorb his words because she was too busy trying to sit as still as possible, as if, if she didn’t move a muscle, she wouldn’t spook him and he’d settle back to the overly cheerful man who had greeted her when she’d walked in the front door.  

Sadness flashed across Sara’s face. She closed her eyes tightly and, when she opened them again, anger had replaced the grief that had been etched there. “Dad, you promised.”

“I know. I tried. I really did, sweetheart, but seeing you so happy with her- Seeing the way she cares about you- It just makes me think of your sister.”

Sara stood up quickly, almost knocking her chair over. “Come on, Ava. Let’s get out of here,” she said, grabbing Ava’s hand. 

Ava was pulled to her feet and towards the door before she could say a word. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner, Mr. Lance,” she managed to call over her shoulder before Sara had them out of the door. They walked quickly to Ava’s car and Sara didn’t wait for Ava before she got in it. 

When Ava did get in, she could feel the tension and frustration radiating off of Sara’s body. Every muscle was tensed and her gaze was fixed straight ahead at nothing in particular. 

“I’m so sorry. That was exactly the type of mess I knew it would be, and I begged him to cancel, but would he listen? No! So instead he breaks down crying in front of you! If he’s scared you off for good -”

Ava frowned and reached out to take Sara’s hand, gripping it firmly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Sara looked at her for the first time since her dad had come back from the kitchen. “You don’t have to say that. My family is a mess. You saw that firsthand tonight. That is as close to a normal dinner as we’ve had in almost a year, and it still-” Sara shook her head angrily, cutting herself off. “First he interrogated you, and then he broke down on you.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Ava assured her. “Until the end it was pretty pleasant.”

Sara shook her head again and tried to pull her hand away, but Ava just gripped it tighter and pulled it towards her. After a moment’s resistance, Sara let her hand be pulled into Ava’s lap. 

Ava uncurled Sara’s clenched fingers slowly and began tracing the lines on her palm. “I don’t know how you and your dad get up everyday and face the world with what’s happened to your sister. You come to school and you smile and you flirt and you stand up for me and for your friends. You go to parties and you make friends, and you attract people to you without even really trying, and all the while you’re dealing with one of the worst things that you could deal with. You ARE amazing, Sara, and I’m not going anywhere because I feel lucky to get to be with you.” She didn’t dare look at Sara as she spoke. She felt like she was baring her soul, and the truth behind her words terrified her a little. If Sara didn’t realize how quickly she’d fallen for her before, she was bound to know it now. “You never have to apologize for trying to handle what’s happened to you. I’m not dating you for popularity or fun times only. I like you good and bad.”

She felt Sara’s hand relax more in her lap, and then she felt Sara’s fingers on her chin, guiding it up until she had no choice but to meet her gaze. 

Sara looked at her for a moment with an expression that she couldn’t read, and then Sara’s lips were pressed forcefully against hers. 

Ava gasped at the intensity of the kiss, and then began to kiss her back. 

When they broke apart, they were both breathless.  

Sara looked at her phone. “It’s not that late yet. I’m not going home tonight, but it’s way too early for me to say goodnight to you.”

“You’re staying with me again,” Ava informed her. “No arguments.”

Sara opened her mouth as if to protest, but then closed it again with a smirk. “Bossy Ava returns. I like it.” 

Ava blushed, but didn’t argue. 

“So tell me, Bossy Ava. Feel like hitting something?” 

  
  
  


The clock tower seemed different at dusk. The last shafts of orangey-yellow light shone in through the clock face framing Sara in a golden glow and casting long, dramatic shadows across the space. All too soon they’d be gone and they’d settle into the twilight hues of greys and blues. Sara stretched in front of the clock face, then moved towards the back of the room where the boxing bag was. 

“Come on,” Sara beckoned. 

Ava followed and watched as Sara opened a small chest that she hadn’t noticed the last time she was there. Sara rummaged for a second, then pulled out a sports bra. Without a moment’s hesitation, she peeled off her shirt, then reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. 

Ava’s eyes went wide, and she quickly turned away, her cheeks burning even though Sara had her back to her and she couldn’t have possibly seen anything. On top of that, it wasn’t like Sara didn’t know she was there, so even if she had been able to see Sara’s breasts it wasn’t like she wouldn’t have had permission. 

Sara cleared her throat a moment later, and Ava turned back around to see Sara in her sports bra eyeing her with an amused expression. 

“This casual undressing thing...you’re just trying to make me flustered, aren’t you?” Ava accused. 

Sara shrugged. “Maybe,” she admitted.

Ava narrowed her eyes at her and shook her head. “Jerk.”

Sara laughed, but it wasn’t her normal laugh, Ava realized. Sara was still tense. The workout would do her good. 

Sara retrieved some tape and some gauze from the chest as well and did a quick tape up of her knuckles. 

Sara moved to in front of the bag, then paused and stepped back. “Want to go first?” she offered. 

Ava shook her head. Sara needed this more. Besides, she definitely did not mind watching Sara’s body move. 

Sara set herself up, then did a turning kick into the bag. It hit with a solid-sounding THWACK and the bag swung wild. Sara spun and landed a back kick as the bag swung back towards her, knocking it back again. 

Ava moved and caught the bag, stabilizing it so that Sara could hit more consistently. 

Sara moved back into her ready stance, then landed a powerful side kick, followed up immediately with a hard 1-2 punch combination. Each strike jogged the bag even with Ava’s weight behind it. 

Sara went into a rapid-fire series of punches that varied in weight and height before grabbing the bag herself and jamming her knee up so hard that Ava was knocked backwards. She stepped away breathing hard. 

“Feel better?” Ava asked. 

Sara grinned. “A bit.”

“Want to go a bit more?”

Sara nodded, getting back into ready stance a little further back from the bag. “You okay?” she asked. 

“I’m good,” Ava confirmed, planting her feet and bracing against the bag. 

With remarkable grace, Sara spun, jumped, and kicked, in one fluid motion, her flying kick landing square on the bag with a satisfying THWACK and a large jolt of the bag. 

Ava grinned. “Show off,” she muttered teasingly. 

Sara tossed a wink over her shoulder as she moved back into position and took up ready stance once more. 

Her skin, now coated in a thin sheen of sweat, glistened in the dramatic lighting of the last rays of sunlight, accentuating every flex of her muscles as she landed a few more kicks and then another flurry of punches. 

She was breathing hard when she stepped away. “What?” she panted, wiping wisps hair back from her brow as she caught her breath.

Ava shook her head and swallowed hard, trying to force the dry feeling in her mouth and warm feeling in her gut to go away. 

Sara grinned a cocky grin. “What?” she asked again, but this time Ava could tell she was pretty sure of what the answer was. 

Ava didn’t give her the satisfaction of telling her. “Better now?”

Sara nodded. “Much. Thanks.”

Ava nodded. “Anytime.”

“You want a go?” 

Ava shook her head. “Not tonight.”

“One kick?” Sara coaxed, moving her gently away from the bag and then bracing herself against it. 

Ava couldn’t resist the urge to show off the way that Sara had, but the bag wouldn’t be as good as the training dummy for what she had in mind. She indicated that Sara should step back and then nodded towards the two training dummies. “Over there.”

Sara looked interested, but didn’t ask any questions as she followed her over. 

Ava closed her eyes and centered herself, then leapt and turned in a perfect tornado kick, her foot landing perfectly along the dummy’s head. The dummy wobbled, and Ava couldn’t help but look smug as she turned back to face Sara. 

“And I’m the showoff?” Sara asked with a smirk.

Ava grinned. “Can’t I give you a taste of your own medicine?”

“I cannot believe you got that height in those jeans,” Sara commented approvingly. She bit her lower lip and pulled Ava towards her. “God, you’re sexy,” she added a moment later. 

The room had turned a grayish blue, and it would be dark before they knew it, but Ava didn’t care. She pulled Sara in for a deep kiss, not minding the sweat that dampened her arms as she wrapped them around Sara’s body. 

She felt more than heard Sara chuckle against her lips. 

“I knew I’d turned you on.” 

Ava blushed, but kissed her again. “Come on,” she murmured into Sara’s mouth between kisses. “Let me take you home.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava have trouble keeping their hands to themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a problem keeping my ideas limited, which means that in the past two weeks I have started writing (but will NOT start posting yet) two new multi-chapter fics for two different fandoms (one is Avalance and I'm super excited to start posting it), and I am running out of my cushion of already written chapters for this story. Anyway, I'm so so so so sorry if the updates start taking a while. I will do my best to focus on this and get it and Stuck With You written and posted in a timely manner while also juggling children and life. In related news: my daughter is done with school for the summer so my morning buffer where I had been occasionally able to write while the boys were in a good mood and happily playing is now also gone. 
> 
> ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Can I get you anything else, dear?” Ava’s mom asked, hovering. Ava could tell she was curious as to why Sara needed to stay over when they’d been at her house for dinner, but to her credit, she hadn’t asked.  

“No, thank you. And thank you again for your hospitality, Mrs. Sharpe,” Sara replied. 

“I told you you were welcome anytime, and I meant it.” 

Ava’s mom lingered, looking almost expectantly at the two girls. Ava stared back with a pointed look. 

“Right, well, don’t stay up too late, girls. I know tomorrow is Friday, but it IS a school night.” 

“We won’t,” Ava and Sara chorused in unison. 

“Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it.  Goodnight, girls,” Ava’s mom said, finally moving out of the doorway to Ava’s room. 

Ava breathed a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes. Of course her mother hadn’t bothered to shut her door. She knew it was on purpose, too. 

She stood and did it quickly, but as quietly as possible so as to not arouse her mother’s suspicion. 

“Stealthy,” Sara commented with a smirk. “Your mom’s really nice, you know.”

“In an annoying kind of way,” Ava agreed, moving to sit beside Sara on her bed. 

“Think that welcome anytime thing will last past Sunday?” Sara asked. 

Ava shrugged. “Probably, but you might not be allowed in my bedroom ever again.”

Sara laughed. “Good thing my room is an option, then,” she replied with a wink. 

Ava didn’t mention how it wasn’t on nights like tonight.

“Seriously, though, you’re lucky. Your family is great.”

Ava shrugged again. She knew that Sara was right, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t get annoyed with them. “Your dad was pretty cool tonight right up until the end.”

Sara gave Ava a skeptical look. “Cool is not a word I would ever use to describe him. Was it his interrogation technique or his corny jokes that made you think that?”

Ava laughed. “Okay, maybe not cool, but nice. He loves you a lot.”

Sara nodded. “He does. I think he loved Laurel more, but I know he loves me. He just feels like he can’t protect me. He feels like he failed. I hate that he thinks that, but I don’t know how to change his mind, especially when sometimes I feel like he failed, too. He didn’t do anything wrong, though. I know that. He did the right thing every time. Damien Darhk is the one who chose a life of crime. He’s the one who chose to kill my sister.”

Ava didn’t want to point out that Sara seemed to carry similar guilt, and if she could see the truth about her dad, why couldn’t she about herself? Instead, Ava took Sara’s clenched fist and gave it a little squeeze. Sara relaxed slightly. 

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Ava replied with a small smile. “You can talk about her any time you want.”

“I miss her.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Ava replied honestly. Growing up an only child, the closest to a sisterly bond she’d ever had was with Amaya. She couldn’t imagine losing Amaya. It must be even worse for Sara. 

Sara opened her hand and laced her fingers between Ava’s, then gave it a squeeze. “You keep surprising me,” Sara said softly. 

Ava frowned. “Surprising you? How?”

Sara opened her mouth to reply, then seemed to think better of it, and closed it again. She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing.”

Ava pulled Sara’s hand into her lap as she gave Sara a little nudge with her elbow. “Come on, what’d you mean?”

Sara gave her a sideways glance then looked down at their hands. She shook her head again. 

“Please?” Ava coaxed, her curiosity gnawing at her more with each refusal from Sara. 

“You just...Tonight has been half mess, half fun, but you haven’t let the mess half scare you off.”

“Of course not,” Ava replied without hesitation.

“Why?” Sara challenged, looking up into Ava’s face.

Why? Ava frowned. Why would it? “When you care about someone it’s not just for the fun. It’s for-” Ava swallowed down the word “always”. They’d been dating less than a week. That was a ridiculous response. “It’s for the good and the bad,” she said, her heart suddenly racing. 

Sara studied her for a long moment, her gaze flitting from one eye to the other as if searching for a hint of dishonesty. 

The next thing Ava knew, Sara was surging towards her, kissing her deeply. 

Ava kissed back hungrily. Sara hadn’t been wrong when she’d accused Ava of being turned on back at the clock tower, and the few kisses they’d shared there had done nothing to taper her desire. 

There was no way that she was having sex with Sara for the first time in her room while her parents were just down the hall, but that didn’t mean that she was going to abstain from all physical contact either. 

Sara cupped her face with her hands, and Ava leaned into the kiss, bringing her hands to rest on Sara’s sides.

“We should probably get ready for bed,” Sara mumbled, not moving to do any such thing. 

Ava nodded into the kiss. They  _ should _ probably get ready for bed. School would be far too early in the morning and the evening had proven more emotionally draining than she’d initially anticipated, but she had no interest in going to sleep just yet. 

Sara dropped one hand to Ava’s hip and ran the other through Ava’s hair, and Ava took the opportunity to kiss her way across Sara’s jawline. 

“I should probably get to the guest room,” Sara gasped, still making no effort to move away, but instead tilting her head back to give Ava better access. 

Ava shook her head as she kissed her way down Sara’s throat. “No. You’re staying here.” 

Sara pulled away, and Ava squawked in protest  in a wholly undignified way that made her blush. 

Sara looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Ava blushed deeper. “I didn’t mean we would...I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

Sara smirked. “I didn’t presume that was what you meant.”

“But you’re sleeping in here,” Ava informed her. 

“Because your mom will love that when she finds out we’re dating,” Sara commented. 

Ava shrugged. “I’m not leaving you to wake up from nightmares in a strange room in a strange house all by yourself. My mom will just deal with it.”

Sara studied her again, her expression unreadable. “You’re something else, you know that?” Sara finally said softly, brushing a strand of Ava’s hair out of her face and then running her thumb across Ava’s lower lip. 

Ava blushed and lowered her head slightly. She pressed her lips against the pad of Sara’s thumb, then Sara dropped her hand to Ava’s side and pulled her back in for a proper kiss.  

Ava wrapped her arms around Sara, pulling her closer, letting her hands slide down her back as their tongues folded against one another. 

Sara hummed against her lips as she broke the kiss a few minutes later, moving to gently nibble Ava’s ear and place delicate kisses just behind it. Ava’s head fell back as Sara continued to pepper kisses along her throat and Sara’s fingers began to trace the hem of her shirt. 

“Bed,” Sara murmured, her breath falling hot against Ava’s throat. 

“Conveniently we’re in one,” Ava replied, her eyes closing as she relished in the sensations Sara was producing with her lips and her tongue. 

Sara pinched her side, and Ava jumped and yelped as it tickled. 

Sara pulled her back close and chuckled against her cheek. “I meant we should get ready for bed,” she said before claiming her lips once more. 

It was still true, just like it had been the last time Sara had said it. Once again Sara made no move to do anything about it. Ava could help, though.

She slid her fingers up under the hem of Sara’s shirt, then curled her fingers around it and tugged it up. 

Sara broke their kiss again, her blue eyes wild as she gazed at Ava in surprise. 

Ava took the opportunity to pull Sara’s shirt over her head and she tossed it aside. She didn’t try to hide the way her eyes raked down over Sara’s body, biting her lip as her eyes traced the curve of Sara’s breasts and trailed over her toned abs. 

When she brought her gaze back up to meet Sara’s, Sara’s expression had changed from surprise to hunger. In an instant, Ava’s lips were back on Sara’s and Sara was pushing her back on the bed. They unceremoniously scooted up so that they were lying down fully on the bed, their lips barely parting, and then Sara was rolling on top of her and trailing kisses down her throat once more. 

Ava let her hands explore the muscles in Sara’s back as she tilted her head back with a small hum that reverberated through her chest. Sara licked slowly up Ava’s throat, letting her tongue flick against Ava’s earlobe, before kissing her way down it again. 

Ava felt a shiver of excitement run through her as heat pooled low in her abdomen. She let her fingers travel up Sara’s sides, and she was rewarded with a high pitched squeal against her collarbone as she found a ticklish spot, but Ava wanted more. She needed to feel the way that Sara’s body was pressed against hers without the barrier of the fabric of her shirt. 

Sara must have felt the same, because she shifted even lower, kissing down over her stomach. Even through the cotton of her top it made Ava’s body hum in excitement. Sara’s fingers pushed up under her top and began sliding it up, so that around the time Sara’s lips hit just beside her bellybutton, the fabric of her shirt was no longer standing between her lips and Ava’s skin. 

Sara kissed up Ava’s rib cage slowly, pushing the shirt up as she did so, so that it was bunching just under her breasts. Ava arched her back to facilitate the rising of the fabric, just as Sara’s kisses reached the underside of her bra. She paused and pulled back just enough so that Ava could prop herself up and pull her shirt the rest of the way off. 

When she sank back down, Sara hovered above her, propped up on one elbow as her opposite hand traced a trail down between her breasts, and over her stomach, to the waistline of her jeans. Sara’s eyes followed the progress of her fingers keenly, and when she looked back at Ava’s face, her gaze was full of lust. 

Ava didn’t know how she was supposed to maintain any semblance of self control when Sara looked at her like that. She surged up to claim Sara’s lips as her own, pulling her down so that their bodies pressed together. Sara’s skin was soft against hers, and she could feel the heaving of her breathing echoed in Sara’s body as it moved against her own. 

Sara’s hand trailed up Ava’s side and Ava squealed as it tickled, but she didn’t shy away because the touch set her skin on fire, too. Sara chuckled against her lips as she repositioned above her slightly so that she could slide her hand up the front of Ava’s ribs. 

“You are bad for my self-control,” Sara murmured in her ear, stray wisps of hair falling into Ava’s face and tickling her cheek. 

Ava laughed. She was bad for Sara’s self-control? Did Sara have any idea of the effect she had on her? Her laugh was stifled as her breath hitched when Sara’s fingers ran along the underside of her bra, lifting it ever so slightly. 

She let out a shuddering breath when Sara looked at her with questioning eyes. This is where they’d stopped last time. This was actually a few articles of clothing less than where they’d stopped last time. Was it wise to go further? Would they really be able to stop?

Ava nodded her consent and Sara’s fingers shoved her bra up over her breast, cupping it with her hand and letting her thumb run over Ava’s nipple. Ava swallowed a moan and kissed Sara again. 

Sara’s hand massaged her breast, and when she rolled her nipple lightly between her finger and thumb, Ava couldn’t stifle the moan it produced. She felt Sara smile against her lips, and knew she was feeling smug, so Ava decided to turn the tables on her. 

She rolled them over, straddling Sara in the process. She looked Sara in the eye as she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, letting it pop open and the straps slide down her shoulders before letting it drop and tossing it aside. She watched as Sara’s eyes raked down and over her chest. Sara’s tongue darted out to wet her lips, and then Sara surged up, kissing first just above one breast, then the side of it, before flicking her tongue across Ava’s nipple. 

Ava arched into the touch, her body burning with desire as Sara sucked her nipple into her mouth. 

“Fuck!” Ava gasped. 

Sara chuckled and looked up at her in surprise. “Good to know I can make Ava Sharpe swear,” she breathed against Ava’s chest, her breath falling hotly against Ava’s wet nipple and sending a shiver down Ava’s spine. 

Ava cupped a hand behind Sara’s head and pulled her up for a fierce kiss to wipe the smug look off her face. She leaned forward, guiding Sara back until her head hit the pillow, then Ava shifted so that she could kiss her way down Sara’s throat. 

“Bet I can return the favor,” she murmured against Sara’s collarbone before trailing her tongue along it. Sara’s head tilted back and her back arched slightly, as Ava kissed her way down across Sara’s chest. Her fingers traced the outline of Sara’s bra as she placed a kiss just above it. 

Her lips grazed along the outside of Sara’s bra, but not with any force. She scooted down farther, letting her breath fall hot across Sara’s stomach, her fingers tracing her muscles. She grinned against her smooth skin as the muscles twitched and she felt more than heard Sara’s breath hitch. 

Ava placed slow, deliberate kisses across Sara’s stomach, following the lines her fingers had drawn. She let her lower lip drag up her hip bone and she hooked the tips of her fingers into the top of Sara’s jeans without thinking. 

“Ava,” Sara gasped, her body arching towards the touch, but her tone held just enough desperation to bring certain facts back to Ava’s mind. 

Fact 1: her parents were home and just down the hall.

Fact 2: she’d said they weren’t having sex tonight. 

She removed her fingers from the waistline of Sara’s pants and moved back up Sara’s body, taking her time, allowing her fingers to explore, enjoying the way Sara’s body seemed to respond to her touch. 

When she reached Sara’s chest she hesitated for just a moment, her eyes flitting to Sara’s. Sara bit her lower lip and raised an eyebrow at her. Ava moved up higher and kissed Sara’s lips once more, timidly letting her hand cup Sara’s breast through her bra. 

Sara flipped them again, pressing down into her, slipping her thigh between Ava’s legs. Ava gasped at the sudden pressure. 

“Thought you were gonna make me swear,” Sara challenged, her voice husky in her ear. 

Ava wanted to. So badly she wanted to, she rolled her hips forward, creating a hint of friction against Sara’s thigh. A small whimper escaped her lips at the sensations that burned through her. 

“Fuck,” Sara murmured.

Ava looked up in surprise. She hadn’t intended for that to be the trigger to Sara swearing.

Sara was gazing down at her through half open eyes that gleamed with desire. “The things you do to me,” Sara mumbled, kissing her deeply. 

Ava’s hips rolled up again of their own accord and Sara bent her leg more, adding to the pressure. 

“Fuck!” Sara repeated, a little louder, rolling off of Ava onto her back. 

Ava watched the rise and fall of her chest as Sara panted, looking at the ceiling. 

“What was that about not doing things with your parents in the house?” Sara asked a minute later, finally turning to meet Ava’s gaze. Her eyes darted over Ava’s bare chest and back up. 

Ava blushed.  Sara was right, and now that they were no longer touching, Ava felt suddenly shy of her toplessness. “Right,” she mumbled, crossing her arm loosely across her chest. 

Sara’s tongue darted out lick her lips and she turned her gaze back to the ceiling. She let out a long, shaky breath. “I think, maybe, we should actually get ready for bed now.”

Ava nodded. “With pajamas,” she added. 

Sara let out a snort of laughter. “Probably a good idea.”

Ava let her eyes drape over Sara’s body one more time, before getting herself up and out of bed, then hurrying to her dresser to find clothes for them to wear. When she glanced over her shoulder, Sara was sitting up watching her, her hair a bit of a mess, her expression still lustful. 

“That was a lot of fun, though,” Ava said, feeling bold for a moment. 

Sara smirked. “Hell, yes.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another nightmare, a suspicious mom, and some friendly banter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all so sweet with your feedback and well-wishes for my family! Thank you all so much! Heads up: there is a moment when things get a little heavy at the start of this chapter. If any of you have lost a loved one suddenly or before their time, it might hit you hard. I promise there's light and humorous to balance it out later in the chapter.

Ava was ready, this time, when Sara bolted up in bed, chased by nightmares that wouldn’t leave her alone. There was no confusion or hesitation when she sat up, too, placing a firm, comforting hand on Sara’s back, while reaching out to take her other hand and squeeze it as an anchor to bring Sara back to reality. 

“You’re okay. I’m here,” she soothed.  

Sara’s eyes took her in, confused at first, then recognition dawning quickly.

“I’m here,” Ava repeated, guiding Sara towards her. 

Sara rested her head on Ava’s shoulder and took a deep shuddering breath. 

“Bad one?” Ava asked. 

She felt Sara nod. “They’re always bad.”

Ava slid her arm around Sara’s shoulders and gave her a tight side hug. “I’m sorry.”

Sara took a deep breath then sat up straight. “No, I am. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

Ava frowned. “I want to. I mean I don’t want to. I don’t want you to have to, but since you do, I want to be there for you.”

Sara’s eyes darted between hers, her expression once again unreadable. She turned back to look at their hands still intertwined in her lap. 

“You know the worst part about the nightmares?”

Ava shook her head. 

“The moment when I wake up and have to remind myself they’re real.”

Ava’s heart broke for her, and she squeezed her hand tight. 

“I mean, obviously aspects of the nightmares aren’t. I wasn’t there. I never saw it happen. If I had been, maybe...maybe things would have had a different outcome, but Laurel being dead? That’s never not a nightmare and never going to change.”

Ava felt an acute aching in her chest as Sara spoke. She had no words to express how sorry she was, and even if she had, they wouldn’t have felt adequate. 

“There’s always that moment when I first wake up where it’s almost like it didn’t happen. Like a split second, only even less. And then I think of her and I see her face in my mind: her smile, her kind eyes, the look she always gave me when Mom and Dad were being a pain to one of us. And I can hear her voice and her laugh. And then every time I have to think about how I’m never going to see her again outside of pictures. I’m never going to hear her voice except in old videos and the old voicemail on my phone. Every picture of her that is ever going to exist has already been taken. The futures she imagined, that WE imagined, are never ever going to happen because she doesn’t have a future anymore. Damien Darhk stole that from her.”

Sara’s voice began to crack, and she brought her free hand up to wipe tears angrily from her cheeks. 

Ava’s mouth felt dry and she felt tears prick at her own eyes as emotion welled up inside her. She’d never had to experience loss like that. Not yet. She knew someday she was bound to, but the only loss she’d known at all was her grandfather when she was nine, and he had been old and sick for all her life, so it hadn’t felt so harsh. 

“I’m sorry,” Ava croaked in a hoarse voice. 

Sara shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s possible that there’s really some time in the future that this won’t hurt so much. Sometimes the thought that that time exists terrifies me and makes me feel guilty. How dare I get to not think about her all the time and move on and get on with my life when she doesn’t even get to have a life anymore? How can it be that someday I might think about her and not feel like someone has stabbed me in the chest?”

Ava let go of Sara’s hand and reached out to put her hand on Sara’s chest as if somehow she could absorb some of the pain that she was feeling. It was stupid, she knew, but Sara seemed to lean into the touch as if it helped just a little. 

“It just...it doesn’t seem real. Sometimes none of it seems real. Like how can this be my real life where she is really dead instead of just off at college where she’s supposed to be, coming home in another month or two, calling every few days with tales of cute professors and college parties? As stupid as it sounds, sometimes I have to remind myself it’s real.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid,” Ava said in a soft voice. “If you lived every second of everyday thinking about her and how she’s gone, it would be crippling.”

“Sometimes it is anyway,” Sara confessed. 

“Does it help to talk about it?” Ava asked. “I know you don’t want to talk to your dad about her, but anytime you want to, you can talk to me.”

Sara looked past her to the alarm clock on her bedside table. “Even at 3 in the morning when we have to be up for school in a few hours?”

Ava chuckled softly. “Definitely.”

Sara smiled at her. “Thanks.”

Ava nodded. “Even if we’re not sharing a bed, you can always call me.”

Sara leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss. “I don’t deserve you,” she mumbled. 

“Don’t be silly,” Ava scolded. 

Sara didn’t reply, but the look on her face let Ava know that she didn’t really think she was being silly. “Come on,” Sara said instead, “let’s get back to sleep. That alarm is gonna be a bitch in the morning.”

They laid back down and Sara took Ava’s hand and wrapped her arm around her as she rolled onto her side. Ava snuggled into Sara’s back, wrapping herself tightly around Sara, as if, in doing so, she could protect her from the realities of her life.

“Goodnight, Sunshine,” Sara mumbled in a sleepy voice. 

Ava propped herself up enough to kiss Sara on the cheek. “Sweet dreams,” she murmured against her skin before laying down and snuggling her once more. 

  
  
  
  


“Did you sleep okay, dear?” Ava’s mom asked at breakfast. 

“Very well, thank you, Mrs. Sharpe,” Sara replied, studiously avoiding eye contact with Ava. 

“Your bed looked hardly touched this morning. I was worried you hadn’t slept,” Ava’s mom commented. 

Ava rolled her eyes. Subtle was something her mother was not. 

“I run hot so I just slept on top of the blankets,” Sara explained. “Didn’t want you to have to wash the sheets.”

Ava repressed a giggle. Sara had gone in early this morning and sat down on the bed, wiggling around a little before hopping off. 

“Oh, well...that’s very considerate of you. Thank you.”

Sara shot Ava’s mom a winning smile. 

Ava looked studiously at her bowl of cereal, trying not to laugh. She didn’t dare look at Sara, but she could feel her mother’s gaze staring at them for a long moment. 

“So how is your school project coming, girls?”

Right, the school project. It was probably a good idea not to get so wrapped up in Sara that she forgot about important things like school work. She’d almost forgotten that there was a reason that she’d started spending time with Sara beyond attraction to her. 

“Well, most of the other kids only handed in their proposals this week, so we’ve got a little bit of time, but we should probably try to head to Adventure Zone sometime soon. May as well get it out of the way so we can focus on the write up,” Sara said, looking to Ava for confirmation. 

“I’m free this weekend,” Ava offered. 

Sara smirked for a moment, then her face turned more neutral. “Yeah? Me, too,” Sara replied, and Ava could hear the amusement in her voice, but hoped that her mother couldn’t. 

“Apart from dinner Sunday, right?” her mom asked, looking suspiciously between her and Sara once more. 

Ava cringed internally. Their revelation was not going to be a big surprise, at least to one of her parents. 

“Right,” Sara replied. “Thank you for having me for that. And for letting me stay again last night.”

Ava’s mom nodded. “Yes, well, I’m glad that Ava has found such a good friend.” 

The amount of emphasis she put on the word friend was really, Ava felt, a bit unnecessary. 

“Well, I’m off to work. I’ll see you later, Ava, right?”

“Um, actually...” Ava glanced at Sara. They hadn’t officially made plans, but it was Friday night. “I was going to hang out with Amaya tonight. Maybe Zari and Caitlin, too?”

Her mother did not look the least bit fooled. “And Sara?”

Ava nodded. “Like a girls’ night.”

“Mhm, well, you girls have fun. Tell Amaya hi.” Her mom looked from her to Sara and back again. She opened her mouth then closed it. “Let me know if you’re going to be out too late. Love you.” She parted with a kiss on Ava’s head. 

“Love you, too,” Ava called after her. 

“You know she’s on to us, right?” Sara asked as soon as they heard the front door click shut. 

“Yeah, we’re not gonna be allowed in my room with the door shut if you come over this weekend. No way,” Ava sighed. 

“She seemed pretty cool about it,” Sara argued. 

“Only because she still has a hint of doubt. It’s not THAT much doubt though.”

Sara shrugged. “So do we have a date tonight or is girls’ night a real thing I should be texting Zari about?”

Ava blushed. “Either? Up to you.”

“Girls’ night could be fun,” Sara said, and Ava couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. “After I take you out to dinner, that is.”

Ava perked up. 

“We could do a girls’ sleepover at Zari’s.”

Ava laughed. “Should we maybe let Zari know? Oh, wait, doesn’t she have family in town?”

“Crap, you’re right. She’s probably still in for girls’ night, though. She’ll be dying for an escape after big family dinner, but her place is definitely out. Here we’ll be subject to suspicious parental glances. My place it is, then.”

“You sure?” Ava asked. It wasn’t like her parents would object if there were a group of them. It wasn’t like she and Sara were going to sneak off to have sex with their friends over. 

Sara nodded. “Yeah, my dad’s working tonight.”

“Okay.”

“Guess we should probably get to school, huh?”

Ava nodded, standing and collecting heir empty dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. As she did so she remembered something that Sara had said to her mom earlier. 

“You run hot, huh?” she teased as they headed for the front door. 

Sara shrugged and grinned. “You seem to find me pretty hot, at least.”

Ava laughed. “Okay, true.”

  
  
  


“Girls’ night sleepover. Tonight. My place. After dinner,” Sara informed Zari when they met her at her locker. 

“Is this like a lesbian thing? Should I bring a date, or…?”

Sara smacked her arm lightly. “First of all, you know I’m bi. Don’t erase my identity,” Sara said, pretending to be offended. “Secondly, it’s a group of friends, you nitwit.”

“Sure. A ‘group of friends’ and then you two all loved up from dinner and, I’m guessing, trying not to sleep together too soon?” Zari said. 

Sara looked a little guilty. “We can restrain ourselves.”

“Yeah, hard pass on watching you guys make out and forget you have other company,” Zari replied, not remotely convinced. 

“We wouldn’t do that,” Ava assured her, even though it sounded vaguely plausible. “We could play games and watch a movie and stuff.”

“If you’re about to suggest Twister, I’m doubly out,” Zari informed her. 

“I was thinking more Cards Against Humanity,” Ava replied. 

“Which cousins are staying in your room?” Sara asked with one eyebrow raised. 

Zari considered this for a moment. “You’re right. Watching you two be nauseating is the lesser of two evils. Maryam will talk WNBA stats at me until she’s blue in the face and Yasmin has started a preachy vegan phase. I don’t care what you want your diet to be, but don’t make me feel bad for enjoying kabab-e barg and my mom’s chicken noodle soup.”

Sara smirked, but protested, “Hey, we are adorable, not nauseating, thank you very much.”

“Pot-ay-to, pot-ah-to,” Zari replied, waving her hand dismissively. “Are you going to be subjecting Amaya to this, as well?”

 “If you mean are we going to invite my best friend, yes,” Ava confirmed. “And we were thinking Caitlin, too.”

Zari nodded. “Okay, I approve the guest list.” 

“Oh, phew,” Sara said, wiping her forehead in an exaggerated way. “Because if somehow you didn’t we were definitely going to change it for you.”

Zari narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at Sara. “You be careful or I’ll invite Guinevere along.”

Sara laughed.  “I might be scared if only you could actually tolerate her for two seconds.”

Zari nodded. “True. She was always my least favorite of your fan club. Having her as an enemy is actually a nice change of pace because at least this way I don’t have to spend time with her.”

“Harsh, but not wrong,” Sara agreed. 

“I’ll be happy when we don’t have class with her anymore,” Ava said. 

“Did you hear her latest?” Zari asked. 

Guinevere had spent much of the week trying to paint Ava as a deranged psychopath, but that was the last she’d heard, so she shook her head. 

“Apparently Sara is the proud leader of a gay cult that we are all a part of. You, me, Amaya, Jax, Kendra, Caitlin, and Ronnie.”

Ava snorted. Caitlin and Ronnie were so clearly in love that nobody would believe that rumor for a second. Besides, Jax and Kendra were dating now, and Jax was sweet, but as heterosexual as they came.

“Wait, it gets better,” Zari said.  “Apparently you guys tried to recruit her, and she turned you down.”

Sara burst into laughter. “Does she honestly expect anyone to believe this crap?”

“I have not heard one person repeat it without laughter,” Zari replied. 

Ava shook her head. “Some people can’t take not being the center of attention.”

“Maybe I should make out with Amaya at lunch just to give her some credibility,” Zari joked. 

Sara laughed, but Ava frowned. Was she right in getting a vibe about them? No. She couldn’t be. 

“I’ll get Jax and Ronnie to do it, too. Well, probably not the making out, but I bet they’re secure enough they’d go for a kiss. We could have so much fun with this,” Zari said. 

This time Ava did laugh. Scheming Zari was pretty amusing. 

The warning bell rang for the first class, and Zari closed her locker and picked up a backpack that Ava had assumed was hers and handed it to Sara. “Your school things,” she said. 

“Thank you. I did not have a calm enough head to grab this yesterday, and I appreciate it.”

“Mhm,” Zari said. “Don’t make a habit of it, Lance. I am not your delivery service.”

“But you love me so much,” Sara countered with a grin. 

Zari rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you lovebirds at lunch.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School shenanigans and girl's night fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus quickish update! Yay for unexpected computer time, a.k.a. everyone naps but me! I posted this note on my other story, but it I'll repeat it here for anyone who's not reading that one:   
> I’m going to be having family visits (the first one started this morning) happening on and off from now through early August, which means less writing time. I have 1 chapter of this, 1 of a new Avalance AU, and 2 of a mad archer (ouat - Robin/Alice) AU (also if any of you go there, I'm coauthoring A Pirate's Life with puppyanimagus - she does the heavy lifting on it - for that pairing, and you should definitely go read), that I can post/work on during that time, but I can’t promise how long updates will take from then. It all depends on how much writing I can squeeze in in-between family and excursions, etc… Anyway, I’ll do my best to keep you entertained, and hopefully you’ll enjoy my other stories, too, so that you won’t get bored waiting for updates. I hope you’ll all stick with me.

Ava looked up as Jax stood up across the table from her. She glanced at Sara who was watching him curiously. The cafeteria was crowded and Jax was in the middle of his meal. It wasn’t like him to leave food uneaten. He stepped up onto the bench seat and cleared his throat. 

Ava noted an amused smirk on Zari’s face. 

“Excuse me, everyone! I have something I need to say,” Jax announced in a clear voice. 

Most of the people at the surrounding tables looked up. 

“Actually, WE have something to say,” Ronnie said, clambering onto the bench seat as well. 

Jax laughed and he and Ronnie exchanged conspiratorial looks. 

“We heard the rumor going around about us,” Ronnie declared as even more heads turned in their direction. 

Both boys looked like they were about two seconds away from cracking up. 

“I guess the secret’s out!” Jax said. “Come here, man.”

Ronnie and Jax took hands and leaned in. 

Ava burst out laughing as they went for an enthusiastic, if rather chaste, kiss. 

There was a spattering of laughter around them, but it was clear that not everybody realized it was a joke. 

“That’s right, folks. The cult is real!” Zari deadpanned, getting to her feet. 

Amaya, barely holding back laughter, stood beside her. “And you should join!”

With that, Amaya wrapped her arms around Zari’s neck and pressed up into a long kiss that dissolved into laughter. A few wolf whistles rang out, and more people were laughing. 

Ava could feel Sara’s whole body shaking in silent laughter beside her. 

“Get down, Mr. Jackson. Mr. Raymond, you, too!” a teacher called from across the cafeteria in a bored tone of voice. 

More people were chuckling now, and Ava caught a glimpse of a fuming Guinevere a few tables over, her face turning red. 

Jax and Ronnie hopped down and threw their arms around each other’s shoulders. 

Across the table from Ava and Sara, Caitlin looked at Kendra, both of whom looked extremely amused. 

“I guess that leaves us?” Caitlin said.  

Kendra stood and held out a hand to help Caitlin up. Caitlin took it graciously, and Kendra pulled her into a kiss. 

“Most fun I’ve had all week!” Caitlin declared. 

Kendra gave the crowd two thumbs up and winked at Jax, who was laughing hard at this point. 

Ava’s stomach ached from laughing so hard and Sara slipped under the table as laughter shook her entire body. When Zari had joked about this earlier, Ava had no idea that she’d begun formulating a proper plan. 

She glanced back at Zari with a newfound respect and caught her looking at Amaya with a raised eyebrow. Amaya elbowed her in the side with a grin and they both laughed. 

In fact, most of the cafeteria was laughing now, and her friends were looking awfully pleased with themselves. Sara emerged from under the table gasping for breath as the teacher on duty tried to calm people down a bit. 

“Guess you and I are the only ones who haven’t kissed,” Sara declared when she’d composed herself a little. 

“Well,” Ava replied, still giggling, “we did start the cult. Is there really any need?”

Sara put her hand to her chest and gasped. “Any need? I ALWAYS need to kiss you.”

Ava grinned and leaned into a kiss that turned into a fresh wave of laughter. 

Across the table and beside her her friends began to sit down again. 

“That should shut Guinevere up for a while,” Jax said, shooting her a wink. 

“And have the whole school talking about something besides your right hook,” Ronnie added. 

“Palm strike,” Ava and Sara corrected in unison before cracking up again. 

“Thank you. All of you,” Ava said when she’d composed herself again. 

The cafeteria was abuzz with laughter and conversation, many heads still turned in their direction. They’d certainly made a statement and given people something to talk about. 

“You organized this?” Ava asked Zari. 

Zari shrugged. “Whatever. Figured I’d have some fun and save your reputation all in one.”

“Thank you,” Ava repeated. 

“Did anyone else see Guinevere’s face?” Zari asked. 

“I thought her head was gonna explode,” Sara replied. 

“For real, though!” Jax chimed in. “I didn’t realize white people could turn so red!”

“So, now that you’re all in my gay cult, who’s in for the sleepover tonight?” Sara asked. 

“Sleepover?” Jax asked, looking far too interested. 

“Sorry, boys. Girls only,” Sara replied. 

“Dang!” Jax exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “Such a shame.”

Ava laughed. She’d learned better than to take Jax too seriously when he said things like that. 

“Isn’t that like reverse sexism or something?” Ronnie asked, a cheeky grin on his face. 

“Don’t make me have to smack you,” Zari replied. 

“Ignore him,” Caitlin said putting a hand over his mouth. 

He licked it and she squealed, pulling her hand away with a disgusted look. 

“Gross,” she complained. “Anyway, I’m in.”

“Me, too,” Kendra added. “Couldn’t let my girlfriend come without me,” she joked.

“Zari?” Sara asked. 

“I said I’d come. As long as you two can keep your lips to yourselves for a few hours.”

“I’m in, too,” Amaya confirmed. 

“Sounds like a party,” Sara said. 

“And we’re not invited,” Jax pouted. 

“You’ll live,” Sara replied, blowing him a kiss. 

The warning bell rang signalling the end of lunch, and as they all packed up to leave, Ava heard more than a few comments along the lines of “hilarious” and “I wanna join.”

Hopefully now Guinevere really would leave them alone. 

  
  
  


“I refuse to play another round of Cards Against Humanity with the wonder twins!” Zari declared, tossing her cards angrily at the floor. 

“Seconded,” Caitlin agreed. 

Ava and Amaya looked smugly at each other. It wasn’t their fault they knew each other so well. That was half of the game; knowing the other players well enough to know what they’d find funny. They had known each other forever. It was only natural they’d know how to play to each other. From where Ava was sitting, girls’ night was going great. 

“I just keep getting crap cards. Honestly, what ARE some of these?” Kendra complained. 

“Okay, so new game,” Sara said, gathering up the cards and putting them back in the box. “What else do we have?”

“I brought Skip-Bo,” Caitlin said, holding up the box. 

“I don’t know it,” Sara said. 

“I do, and Ava gets competitive,” Amaya accused. 

“I do not!” Ava defended herself. 

“Like super competitive,” Amaya contradicted. 

“I feel like competitive Ava is gonna be sexy,” Sara said with a grin and a wink. 

“Gag. I feel like you think every iteration of Ava is sexy,” Zari replied. 

Sara shrugged and nodded. “Not wrong.”

Ava blushed. 

“Double gag,” Zari said, and Amaya elbowed her in the side, looking amused. 

Zari gave her a small look that Ava couldn’t read, but then she seemed to relent. “Okay, so Skip-Bo. Rules?”

“Okay, so there are six of us, so we’ll have to play teams-“

“I call Ava,” Sara said. 

“Shocking,” Zari deadpanned. 

Sara swatted at her. 

“Aaanyway,” Caitlin continued, “each team will get 2 piles of cards and two hands and you have to play into piles in the center that go up sequentially, starting with 1 and ending with 12. You also have 4 discard piles, per person, and since we’re playing pairs whichever person is active in a pair can play on their own or their partner’s discard piles, but whoever isn’t active can’t communicate with them to tell them what they have planned or what they have in their hand. The first pair to get rid of their stock piles wins.”

Zari and Kendra were frowning. Even Ava who had played plenty had managed to get confused during that explanation. 

“I lost you back on 2 piles of cards,” Zari said. 

Caitlin sighed and opened her mouth to try again. 

“How about we just play a few hands slowly so everyone gets the hang of it?” Amaya suggested. She looked straight at Ava, “That means hold off on the intentionally blocking people for the time being,” she said pointedly. 

“That’s part of playing the game! They should know that!” Ava replied defensively. 

Amaya rolled her eyes with a fond smile. “Just try not to scare them off before we’ve really started.”

“I will do my best,” Ava pledged. 

Caitlin grinned as she dealt. “I feel like this is going to be fun.”

  
  
  


Ava’s eyes darted around the circle. Nobody else had a 1 visible. She glanced at the card on the top of her stock pile. She only had three cards left, but her top one was a 12. She couldn’t play on the only pile in the middle because she still didn’t have a damn 11 and nobody seemed horribly inclined to play one. It might have had something to do with her and Sara beating the pants off of everybody else. 

She looked at Amaya and Zari’s stock piles. A 3 and a 5.  She could see a 2 clearly waiting in Amaya’s discard piles, too. 

Nope. 

She put her one down in one of her discard piles. 

“Oh, come ON!” Zari protested. 

Ava smirked. 

“I am seeing a whole new side of you tonight, Ava,” Kendra said. 

“I don’t like it,” Zari muttered, staring forlornly at her cards. 

“I tried to warn you,” Amaya said. 

“I like it,” Sara said in a husky voice that made Ava flush with warmth. 

Ava grinned at her and leaned in. Sara met her halfway and kissed her firmly. 

A card hit Ava on the arm, and when she looked up, she saw Amaya, Caitlin, and Kendra looking amused while Zari looked disgusted. 

“Get a room,” Zari complained. 

Sara blew her a kiss and Ava laughed. 

The truth was that it was easy to not get carried away with their friends over. They were trying hard not to rush. Ava wasn’t sure it was completely necessary at this point, but then she thought about how quickly she’d fallen for Sara so far and how attracted she was to her already. 

If they slept together, Ava was worried she’d fall so far down the rabbit hole she’d never be able to climb back up. Sara liked her, she KNEW that, but how much? Was it the same? Would it be the same after sex? They were high schoolers. Statistically their relationship wouldn’t make it past the summer, let alone through a whole other school year and college and life. Yet, already the prospect of not being with Sara made Ava feel nauseous. 

No, it was definitely best to hold off for now. Whatever Sara’s motivations were for waiting, Ava wasn’t going to complain. Her body might complain, but her brain was (mostly) on board. 

“Earth to Ava!” Amaya said, waving a hand in front of her face. 

Ava focussed on her in surprise. 

“It’s your turn again and Kendra decided to be nice and set you up.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with you?” Caitlin asked. 

Kendra shrugged. 

“You didn’t have to point it out to her, you know,” Zari commented, giving Amaya a pointed look. 

“Trust me. You don’t know Ava like I do. I merely sped up the process. She’d have noticed in a heartbeat,” Amaya replied. 

“She might not’ve,” Zari grumbled. 

Amaya bumped her shoulder against Zari’s with a slight smile. It almost looked like something Ava had seen her do with boyfriends in the past. Or her, for that matter, she realized. 

“Are you gonna play your turn, Sunshine?” Sara asked. 

“Shhh. Partner’s supposed to be silent!” Zari hushed her. 

“I wasn’t helping her!” Sara defended herself. 

“Shhh!” Zari hissed again and Sara rolled her eyes. 

Ava played her 12, collected the pile and put it aside, then turned over the top of her stock pile.  It was a 2. She grinned and played the 1 she’d discarded last turn followed by the 2 off her pile and then flipped over a 3. She let out a gleeful laugh and played that, too, leaving her pile empty and only Sara’s left to deal with before they could win. 

Zari threw her hand down and glared. “Who shuffled these anyway?”

“You did,” Amaya reminded her. “You wanted to make sure Ava and I couldn’t cheat, remember?”

“Hmph. Clearly I should’ve cheated,” Zari replied. 

“Or shuffled better,” Kendra said. 

Zari glared. 

“Come on, we haven’t won yet,” Ava coaxed. It was no fun unless they ACTUALLY got to destroy their opponents. Who wanted an easy forfeit? “There’s always a chance.”

“Nope. Nuh-uh. No way we’re coming back. Are you serious? We’ve played like two cards off my pile. This is the third game in a row that you guys are gonna win. I quit,” Zari surrendered. 

“Spoil sport,” Ava grumbled. 

“Sore winner,” Zari shot back. 

“Now, now, children,” Caitlin interrupted with an amused smile. “How about something where there are no winners and no losers?” 

“How about something with alcohol?” Zari asked. 

“You don’t drink,” Amaya said with a chuckle, nudging Zari gently with her shoulder again. 

“Maybe I should start,” she muttered, but a smile was playing on her lips when she looked at Amaya. 

Amaya laughed and rolled her eyes. 

“How about truth or dare?” Kendra suggested. 

“If you think that has no winners and no losers, you have not been playing it right,” Sara replied. 

“You’re just scared we’ll out you as a total sap in front of your girlfriend,” Zari accused. 

“I already know she’s a total sap,” Ava teased with a wink. 

“Heeeeey!” Sara said defensively. “Anyway, Zari’s really a big softie.”

“I can tell,” Amaya said with a grin. 

“I am no such thing!” Zari spluttered. 

Kendra and Caitlin just laughed and Ava couldn’t help but join them. 

“Right, well I guess we’ll just have to play truth or dare and find out,” Sara challenged. 

“I guess so.”

  
  


“Who in this group would you date besides Sara?” Caitlin asked. 

Ava frowned. She should’ve gone with dare. “Is no one an option?”

“No!” Zari and Caitlin said in unison. 

Sara chuckled. “I’m good with that answer.”

“Your vote doesn’t count, Lance,” Zari informed her. 

Sara stuck out her tongue and Ava had to resist the urge to surge forward and kiss her. Except she had a question to answer. Blah. Ava scrunched up her face and looked around at her options. None of them held a candle to Sara as far as dating material, as far as she was concerned. “Amaya,” she finally said. “I know her so well, it’d be easy.”

“It’d be weird to kiss you, though,” Amaya said with a slight wrinkle of her nose and a small chuckle. 

Ava nodded her agreement. “Super weird. We’d be like those sexless couples who’ve been married forever and just enjoy each other’s company.”

“I’m pretty sure that only happens with straight couples,” Sara said. 

“Heeey!” Caitlin and Kendra protested in unison. 

“Hasn’t happened to me and Ronnie,” Caitlin added. 

“You are neither old, nor married,” Zari pointed out. “Anyway, you’re being ace exclusionary.”

“Hey, I wasn’t trying to be anything exclusionary. You all made me choose someone. I chose. My turn now. Caitlin, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Caitlin replied. 

“Hmmm,” Ava hummed as she thought. She never felt like she was horribly original at thinking up questions. She could ask a variation on what she’d just been asked. That might prove interesting. Oooh, oooor… “What’d you think of your kiss with Kendra today at lunch?”

Caitlin appeared to consider her answer for a moment. “Pretty pleasant, really. Soft lips, not too aggressive. Enjoyable.”

“Would you do it again?” Sara followed up. 

“It’s not your question,” Zari said. 

“And I already answered my truth,” Caitlin added, sticking out her tongue. 

“I just want to make sure that my gay cult recruitment is on schedule,” Sara replied with a wink. 

Caitlin laughed. “Okaaaaay… Ummmm… Zari!”

“Dare.”

“I didn’t even ask you yet,” Caitlin protested. 

“Is my answer apt to change? I know my choices,” Zari retorted. 

“Okay, okay… I suck at coming up with dares, though,” Caitlin whined. 

Zari shrugged and smirked. 

“All I can think of is kiss someone,” Caitlin sighed. “Okay, sooo...kiss Amaya again, I guess. Ooh! Only no laughing this time. Serious kiss. Like you mean it.”

Zari rolled her eyes. “Yeah, there’s nothing like a romantic kiss that you’ve been DARED to do.”

Ava raised an eyebrow at the use of the word romantic. She glanced at Sara, but Sara was watching Zari and looking extremely amused. 

“Quit dragging your feet,” Sara said, poking Zari in the arm. 

“I’m not dragging my feet,” Zari replied, looking slightly sheepish. “Now, since we are not barbarians and we care about consent, Amaya, do you mind?”

Amaya turned towards Zari and smiled. “Not at all,” she replied. 

Zari began to lean in. 

“What, no touching? Cup her cheek! Guide her to you! Something! Otherwise I’m gonna laugh when you bonk noses,” Sara interjected. 

Zari shot her a glare, but Ava giggled at the visual that Sara had conjured up, and Caitlin and Kendra looked amused. 

Zari reached out hooked a finger under Amaya’s chin, then leaned in again. Amaya met her halfway. Ava found herself thinking that it was almost a shame that Amaya was straight because there seemed like there were definite sparks as her lips met Zari’s. The kiss was tender and did not end in giggles, but DID end in an exaggerated eye roll from Zari. 

“Satisfied?” she demanded, though she looked a bit flushed.

“Yep,” Caitlin said. 

“Looked like you enjoyed it,” Sara commented. 

Zari gave her a playful shove. “Perv. Why were you watching that close? Anyway, she’s a good kisser.”

Amaya ducked her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat and then looked back up. Ava recognized that she was feeling a bit sheepish as well. 

She could understand that. Kissing someone in front of an audience was a little weird, even if it was just for a dare. 

“Anyway, shall we continue?” Amaya asked. 

“Yes!” Zari declared. “Lance. Truth or dare?”

“I chooooose…”

“Truth. You choose truth,” Zari informed her. 

Sara narrowed her eyes. “That’s YOU choosing truth.”

“For you. It’s an almost choice,” Zari replied with a wave of her hand.  

“What happened to ‘we care about consent’?” Sara asked.  

Zari sighed and dramatically rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. What is your actual choice?”

“Dare,” Sara responded quickly with a smirk. 

Amaya snorted in amusement and Ava couldn’t help but laugh. 

“You only chose that because I want you to choose Truth,” Zari accused. 

“This is true. But only because, in my experience, when someone really wants you to choose one option or the other, it is with something devious in mind. I don’t think I want to answer your truth,” Sara replied. 

“It’s not that bad! It just plays into my proving that you’re a sap,” Zari said defensively. 

“Dare,” Sara repeated. 

“Jerk,” Zari grumbled. “I dare you to pick truth next time I ask you.”

“That is not how the game works,” Kendra interjected.  

Zari grumbled something under her breath. “Fiiiine. Okay… I dare you to… All the dares I can think of are lame!”

“That seems more like a you problem than a me problem,” Sara retorted, looking smug. 

Zari glared, but continued to mull over her options. 

“Today, maybe?” Caitlin prompted when Zari was silent for a few minutes. 

Zari turned her glare on Caitlin and glowered, still with no dare forthcoming.  

Sara sighed after another few minutes. “Fine! Okay. Truth! I choose truth, just so we can get this game going again sometime before midnight.”

Zari perked up.  

“It’s 11:50,” Amaya pointed out, looking amused. “That’s only ten minutes away.

“Really? Truth?” Zari asked. 

Sara shrugged. “Whatever. Go ahead. Do your best to embarrass me. No way you’re better at it than my dad is.”

Ava elbowed Sara in the side. That wasn’t entirely fair. He hadn’t TRIED to embarrass her. Not really. 

Sara rolled her eyes and looked expectantly at Zari. 

Zari grinned. “What did you tell me before your first date with Ava?”

Sara narrowed her eyes at Zari. “See you tomorrow?”

Zari narrowed her eyes right back. “Before that, smartass. What were you fretting about in the room down the hall?”

“I do not fret,” Sara replied. 

“The name of the game is TRUTH or dare, Lance.”

“Technically my initial answer was the truth,” Sara pointed out.

“Not the one I was looking for,” Zari replied. 

“Should’ve been more specific!” Sara shot back, sticking out her tongue. 

“Oh my goodness, you two! Do we need to put your in separate corners and install a permanent referee?” Caitlin demanded. 

Ava and Amaya exchanged an amused look. “Probably,” they said at the same time before bursting into laughter. 

“Ugh, fine. The answer you want is that I told you that I’d never been with a girl like Ava, and I didn’t want her to realize that she was too good for me right away,” Sara replied, looking sheepish. 

“Awww,” Kendra said. 

“That I’m what???” Ava balked. 

Zari held up a finger to her. “And what did I say?” Zari asked with a nod at Sara. 

“You smacked me upside the head,” Sara replied. 

Zari nodded. “True. Deserved. But after that, what’d I say?”

“You know this is going to prove my softie theory, too, right?”

Zari shrugged. “Worth it.”

Sara sighed. “You said I’m better than I realize and it was cute to see me pining after a girl so hard.”

“You forgot a word,” Zari said. 

“Nauseatingly cute,” Sara corrected. 

“You are better than you realize,” Ava seconded, leaning in and bumping her forehead against Sara’s. 

Sara’s eyes didn’t meet her gaze. “There are things you don’t know,” she murmured so softly that Ava was sure nobody else had been able to hear it. 

“They won’t change my opinion of you,” Ava replied, still leaning her forehead against Sara’s.

“You don’t know that,” Sara argued in a whisper. 

Ava kissed her firmly. “I do.”

Whatever Sara was holding on to guilt over, whatever made her doubt herself so strongly, Ava knew she’d seen enough of the real Sara to judge the essence of her character. Sara was caring and sweet and strong.

Sara, Ava realized, was exactly the type of girl that she could date for only a week and already be falling in love with. 

_ Shit _ , she thought. THAT was terrifying. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava finally go to the amusement park for their physics assignment!

“Okay, so we’re gonna need to figure out the maximum force exerted on this ride, the potential energy just before each drop, and…” Sara wrinkled her nose in a cute way that made Ava want to kiss her. 

She refrained, but only barely. “Maximum velocity and maximum acceleration achieved on the ride,” Ava supplied with a grin. 

“Right. Velocity and acceleration,” Sara nodded. “So what exactly do I need to do  _ during _ the ride?” 

“Hold this force meter and pay attention to it’s readings. We’ll ride a few times and record the maximum force each time. I’ll watch the speedometer for the velocity. We’ve got the info we found online about ride height, the mass of the cars, and the total track length, so we can do the calculations later.”

“So this is just more data collection,” Sara surmised. 

“Exactly,” Ava replied with another smile. 

“And getting to ride rollercoasters with a pretty girl,” Sara added with an answering grin. 

Ava couldn’t resist leaning in for a kiss this time. “Bonus,” she agreed. 

They’d gotten up early and been there when the park opened, but Ava hadn’t minded despite their late night because she was with Sara. 

That was ridiculous, part of her brain recognized. One week in and she was in way too deep, but for now she was willing to ignore it.  For now, Sara was leaning back against the metal barrier and looking at her with a smirk. 

They had already gone on some of the thrill rides, and the lines for the coasters were starting to get longer as the park filled up, so they’d switched gears. In another few hours they’d be done with the school work part of their day and be able to relax and enjoy the park together. Study date turned real date, Ava mused. It was nice being with someone where she felt she could combine the two. 

The line shuffled forward and Sara slipped her hand into Ava’s as they moved up, shooting her a little wink that made her heart skip a little beat. She didn’t care that they’d gotten more than a few glares from parents of small children (who couldn’t care less about what two high schoolers were or were not doing). She didn’t care that they’d had to endure wolf-whistles from immature guys, one of whom had been at least 50 and a park employee who should definitely have been focussing on other things. She didn’t care that it was cold enough still that her heavy sweatshirt didn’t feel quite warm enough when the wind picked up, even though April was less than a week away at this point. 

All she cared about was that she was getting to spend time with Sara. Even better, she was getting to do something that was simultaneously brainy and fun with Sara. Bonus: it included roller coasters. 

Ava wouldn’t have considered herself a thrill-seeker, exactly. There were plenty of thrills she had no problem living without. She had ALWAYS loved thrill rides and roller-coasters, though. She loved the excitement as the ride climbed up, up, up, slower and slower. She loved the butterflies in her stomach and the racing of her pulse in that moment where time just stood still before the drop. She loved the way her stomach flipped as she dropped, out of control and in control all at once. 

She loved that she was about to get to experience all of that with Sara by her side. 

The wind picked up again and Ava shivered as it cut through the warmth of the fleecy fabric against her skin. She really should have worn a long-sleeved shirt under her sweatshirt. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking.

(Except she hadn’t been thinking because Sara had dragged her into her room for an early morning makeout session that had been so distracting that she’d barely had time to choose a shirt to borrow and get dressed before they’d been out the door.)

Sara didn’t look the least bit cold in her long-sleeved black shirt and black leather jacket. She grinned at Ava and stepped towards her, sliding her hands into the kangaroo pouch of her sweatshirt to meet Ava’s and tugging her closer. “You look cold.”

“You feel warm,” Ava replied, snuggling into the warmth Sara provided with her closeness. 

Sara kissed her nose and leaned her forehead against hers. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to share my warmth.”

“Mmmm, I can think of a few ways for you to do that,” Ava said, capturing Sara’s lips in a quick kiss until the guy behind them cleared his throat in a bored kind of way. 

She turned to him, ready to be annoyed that he wasn’t minding his own business, but he only offered a half smile and gestured to the line moving in front of them. He wasn’t judging or perving or annoyed. He was just eager to get on the ride, same as them. 

“Thanks. Sorry,” Ava muttered. 

The guy nodded with an amicable smile and Ava took Sara’s hand and tugged her forward. They’d be on the next car and Ava felt the giddiness in the pit of her stomach grow. Sara must have been feeling it too because she gave Ava’s hand a squeeze. 

Sara bit her lip and grinned at Ava. “Is it weird that this is technically homework and I’m super excited about it?” 

“I think homework is exciting on a regular basis as long as it’s about something interesting or challenging, so…I don’t think so?” Ava offered. 

Sara leaned in and gently bumped Ava’s nose with her own. “You are such a nerd,” she said in an affectionate tone. 

“Yeah, but you like it,” Ava replied. 

“I do,” Sara agreed before kissing her slow and deep. 

Ava slid her hands around Sara’s waist and pulled her in close, the chaos of the theme park dissolving around her as she was momentarily consumed by all things Sara. 

“Look, the two of you are super adorable, but do you want to get on this ride? Or…” a voice said from behind them in line, breaking the spell Ava was under. 

Ava looked sheepishly at the guy behind them. “Yes. Sorry. Thanks again.”

The guy offered a small smile, and Ava and Sara turned and filed onto the roller coaster car. They smushed in next to each other in the second row, and Sara squeezed Ava’s hand as they pulled the safety restraints down over them. 

“Got the force meter ready?” Ava asked. 

Sara held it up and wiggled it between her fingers.

Ava dug the speedometer out of her kangaroo pouch as the attendant came and checked that the restraints were securely fastened. 

“Ready?” Sara asked. 

Ava felt the giddy excitement that had been building reach a new high. She grinned broadly and nodded. “Ready!”

  
  


Ava felt like she was on top of the world. Okay, maybe that had something to do with being stopped atop the Ferris wheel. It was definitely also due in part to the beautiful lady she had sitting next to her. 

“The view is nice from up here,” Sara said, turning to face her. 

Ava grinned, taking in her blonde hair shining in the sun, now beginning to lower in the sky, her piercing blue eyes staring back at her, her pink lips full and inviting. “It’s stunning,” she agreed.

Sara smirked. “Flirt,” she accused. 

Ava shrugged and leaned in, capturing Sara’s lips with hers. Up here the noise of the amusement park sounded faint. If it weren’t for the voices of the people in the car just below them it would be easy to pretend they were all alone up there. 

The breeze was chillier up so high, but Ava felt warmer as she snuggled into Sara and lost herself in the kiss. Only the jerk of the ride starting to move again made them break apart with a giggle. 

The whole day felt magical - even the parts that were technically homework. Maybe it was just being at the park - the lights, the sound, the whole atmosphere. Plus there was the thrill of the rides, too. But Ava suspected that it had more to do with who she was experiencing all of that with. 

When Sara smiled at her, butterflies erupted in her stomach. When Sara casually touched her to brush hair out of her face or dab powdered sugar off her nose, Ava felt sparks. When Sara kissed her, Ava felt weak in the knees. 

The thought that occurred to her as they were riding roller coasters earlier popped back into her head and for what felt like the hundredth time that day she pushed it down. Now was not the right time to think about it. 

They took their time getting off of the Ferris wheel and started to stroll, hand-in-hand at a leisurely pace towards the exit. Neither of them were in any particular hurry for their day to end. A catchy song came on and Sara started to dance to it. She waved Ava’s arm to try to get her to partake, but Ava resisted. She felt silly. 

“Come on,” Sara coaxed, giving a little wiggle of her hips and then a wiggle of her eyebrows. 

Ava laughed. Then again, who was really watching? 

She gave in and started to move to the beat with Sara as they made their way through the crowds. Sara spun her and she spun Sara right back, causing them both to break down into giggles. 

They kept it up all the way to the bathrooms by the entrance, oblivious of any strange glances they might have been getting. Who cared what anyone might think when she had Sara on her arm? Who cared if people thought they were weird when she couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy before? 

They calmed to a walk, still holding hands, as they made their way through the exit gates. Sara swung their hands a little wildly and shot her an impish grin which only made her laugh. Sara was amazing. She’d never had someone so easily bring a smile to her face before. 

As they entered the parking lot, Ava tugged Sara between two cars and kissed her deeply. 

“Hi,” Sara said, sounding slightly surprised when they broke apart. 

“Sorry. Couldn’t help myself,” Ava replied. 

“Well, I’m not sorry,” Sara informed her, kissing her again, pushing until her back was pressed against a stranger’s car. 

That thought brought her back to reality slightly. They should probably get to THEIR car before heavy makeout sessions. 

Ava took Sara’s hand and dragged her towards the car, thinking about how she couldn’t wait to press their lips together again. It was so hard not to get completely wrapped up in everything that was her. 

“Woah there, tiger,” Sara teased, and Ava slowed slightly, a blush now gracing her cheeks. 

Sara pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around her from behind. “Feeling a little eager to get someplace private?” she asked as they awkwardly turned down another row. 

“Maybe,” Ava admitted. 

“Can’t say I blame you. I am pretty sexy,” Sara said. 

Ava reached back inside Sara’s jacket and pinched her side, causing a high pitched squeak and a loosening of Sara’s grip around her waist. She took the opportunity to turn in Sara’s arms and kiss her again. “Too sexy,” Ava informed her. 

When she broke away she noted, with triumph, a hint of a blush on Sara’s cheeks. 

“Good afternoon, ladies,” a voice cut into their little bubble of happiness. The words were nice, but the tone spoke of danger. 

Ava’s hands instinctively balled into fists as she looked around to see a muscular man, about her height, leaning against the front of a Land Rover.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” the man said with a smile that was anything but pleasant. “Have a fun time on the rides?”

Sara stepped between the man and Ava, and Ava could see the tension in her shoulders. She was on high alert, too. 

“It was great until two seconds ago. Now if you don’t mind -“ Sara attempted, taking a step forward. 

The man straightened and Ava saw the flash of metal in his hand. 

“But I do mind. See? I’d love to let you past,” he said, throwing his knife in the air and catching it with ease in a move clearly designed to intimidate, “but I’d like the contents of your wallet and all of your jewellery, first.”

“Not gonna happen,” Ava said, her voice coming out strained. Her heart was racing. She swallowed hard, but her mouth felt dry. 

They were too far from the main exit to be heard if they yelled, but maybe they’d get lucky and somebody would pass by. Besides, it was two against one, and they were far from helpless. 

Those thoughts did nothing to soothe the knots of anxiety in her stomach. 

“No? I think it will,” he said. “We’ll take your bags there, too. And maybe even a kiss,” he added with a wink. 

It made Ava’s skin crawl. 

“My dad’s a cop,” Sara warned. 

“Oh? Is he here?” the man didn’t seem alarmed. He didn’t even seem remotely rattled. “Because unless he’s here, we’ll be long gone with your stuff well before he gets here even if you call him right now. We’ll be long gone before he can send someone. And we’re smart enough to wait for you to be alone and distracted, so we’re definitely smart enough not to use credit cards that can be easily tracked.”

_ We,  _ Ava registered. She looked over her shoulder and saw a lumbering hulk of a man with an unpleasant smile on his face. He must have been lurking between the cars and they just hadn’t noticed him as they’d past. 

The first man stepped forward again, gripping his knife firmly in his hand and holding it up. “So about those bags…” he prompted. 

Ava could feel herself freezing. This didn’t seem real. It seemed like a bad dream. Maybe she’d drifted off to sleep at the top of the Ferris wheel and hadn’t woken up yet. 

“I can disarm him.” Sara’s voice was low and urgent, and it was enough to snap Ava out of any hopes that this wasn’t happening. “Can you fend off the giant?”

“Well, now, girls, don’t you know it’s impolite to whisper?” 

The man with the knife stepped forward again. One quick move and he’d be able to grab them. If they were going to act, they needed to do something fast. 

She wasn’t sure she could take him, but she also wasn’t sure they wouldn’t just decide to hurt them both even if they complied. 

Sara looked at her and Ava nodded. Sara reached out and gave Ava’s hand a squeeze, and then they both moved as one. Ava just caught Sara grabbing the one man’s wrist as she turned and did something she knew she could effectively pull off, not holding back in the slightest as her palm connected easily with the large man’s nose. She heard the clang of the knife hitting the ground as the bulk of a man cried out in pain, clutching his face. 

Bad move on his part. He left himself exposed. Quickly Ava grabbed his arms and raised her knee as if she was trying to move it up and through the man. He crumpled forward with a high-pitched squeal she might have found comedic in a different situation. She didn’t know how fast he might recover, though, so she didn’t dare stop there. He was already leaning forward so her next step was clear. She grabbed the back of his head and brought her leg up again, her thigh collecting solidly with his face. He fell instantly to the ground, and Ava knew that she had accomplished exactly what she’d hoped to. The giant was unconscious. 

She turned back to see Sara knocking the breath out of the other guy with an elbow to the gut. A crescent kick to the head later and he was down, too.

They grabbed each others’ hands and ran the remaining short distance to the car. 

Ava felt half giddy, half still terrified as they got into the car. 

“That was badass,” Sara said as Ava started the car. 

“We should call your dad.”

Sara sighed. “Yeah. Probably. Next people they decide to rob might not be so capable. All right.”

Her heart was still pounding as they headed for home and Sara dialled her dad. She noticed two men sitting in a dark green sedan and gave them a hard glare as she drove past. There they were, in full view of those assholes attacking them, and they’d sat back and done nothing from the safety of their car. Jerks. So what if they were waiting for someone? They could at least have honked to try to scare the guys away, just letting them know someone could see them. Useless. People were useless. Mentality of the crowd. They probably figured someone else must be in another car nearby and THAT person would do something. 

Whatever. 

They were safe. They were heading home and those guys would think twice before attacking any other women they deemed easy targets. With the force that her knee had hit the one guy’s crotch, he’d be lucky if he was ever able to walk straight again. 

Ava let out a long shaky breath. 

“You okay?” Sara asked, reaching out to take her hand. “No, not you, Dad! Yes! We’re free and clear. Okay, yeah, we’ll come straight to you.”

The touch calmed her some, but her adrenaline was still pumping. She nodded. “I will be. Good thing we’re quick on our feet.”

“Good thing we’re badass,” Sara replied with a grin. Her smile faded a moment later and she rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad, we’re lucky. Yeah, I’m sure I can describe the one guy at least. You send someone fast enough and they’ll still be on the ground in the parking lot.”

Ava saw through her bravado. Sara was a little shaken, too, she just didn’t want to show it. 

“Yeah. See you soon, Dad. No! We’re fine! We’re fine. Yes. Bye.” Sara hung up and took a deep breath then turned back to Ava. “What time am I due for dinner tomorrow?” Sara asked. 

Ava suspected that she knew, but appreciated the change of subject. 

“Five,” she replied. 

“Five. Okay. So I’ve got like twenty-four hours to appreciate that your parents like me until they realize they don’t. See, that’s REALLY scary. Give me a guy I can hit any day over parents I have to impress.”

Her delivery fell a little flat, but Ava laughed anyway. “Dork,” she accused affectionately. “They’re still going to like you after we confirm we’re dating.”

“How can you be so sure,” Sara asked, not convinced. 

“Because I like you,” Ava said, feeling a lump in her throat at words she refused to say yet. 

Sara’s answering smile melted away Ava’s anxiety from the attempted robbery. 

“Well, good,” Sara replied. “‘Cause, in case you were unclear about this, I like you, too.”

  
  


The men had been apprehended and, if the mood that Sara’s dad had been in when he’d left them was any indication, they had done their last robbery. For a while at least. 

Their secret was out, too. Not that it had really been a secret, but from the moment Quentin had referred to Ava as his daughter’s girlfriend at the station and her parents had given her a knowing look, she’d known that dinner tomorrow would be more “let’s REALLY get to know Sara” than “surprise she’s my girlfriend now!”

For tonight though, it seemed, they were letting that revelation slide in favor of making sure Ava was safe and okay. 

Knowing that the guys were behind bars helped a lot, but she didn’t mind cuddling into a warm hug from her mom at the station. 

Sara’s dad had had no intention of letting her out of his sight for the night and Ava’s parents had a similar idea, so they’d parted ways at the station with a tight hug. 

Ava didn’t mind the space, exactly, even if part of her wished she could just unwind by kissing her in bed. 

Ava  _ did _ have homework to do. She didn’t like saving it all until Sunday. That made her anxious. 

On top of that, the excitement of the afternoon had been a little too much and she did want some alone time to recuperate. She’d always been a bit in her own head when it came to dealing with things. Even though Sara had shared the experience with her, she enjoyed having some time to sit and focus on some homework while she processed. She worked her way through the familiar equations, enjoying the logic of the numbers and the set processes. It allowed her to reflect on her whole day. 

For most of it she’d been riding high. It was just the end, when things had taken a turn for the worse. Stupid assholes ruining a perfect day. Her pen scratched angrily across the paper, almost ripping it. 

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She’d hashed out the encounter at least a dozen times in her mind, and each time she came to the same conclusion. She and Sara had gotten too wrapped up in each other. They’d lost awareness of their surroundings and the guys had had the element of surprise. They were lucky that they had some training or things could have gone a different way. 

It wouldn’t do her any good to think about just how badly it could have gone, she knew. 

She forced her brain to switch gears. If she let it, the few minutes of bad would overshadow the whole day of good. She needed to think about the good. 

She remembered Sara’s scream of delight as they hit the first drop on the first roller coaster together and it brought a smile to her face. She’d known right then that Sara was totally not going to have good readings for their first ride, and she hadn’t cared one bit. 

She dug the few photo souvenirs they’d bought out of her bag and looked through them. Even screaming on a ride Sara managed to look gorgeous. It wasn’t fair, really. 

Sara was amazing, and as she looked through the pictures, she let her mind wonder back to the revelation about her feelings she’d had earlier in the day and repressed until now. 

Now she finally had time to deal with it. 

It had been somewhere around the third drop on their second ride through of their first roller coaster that it had hit her. She’d looked over at Sara, who looked back with a gleam in her eye and bright smile on her face, freer than she’d ever seen her, and she’d had to stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. 

It was too soon. It was WAY too soon. 

And yet she did. She could try to deny it all she wanted and she certainly wasn’t about to say it aloud to anyone, least of all Sara, but she knew, deep down, in the very fiber of her being: she loved Sara Lance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, even though the series of moves that Ava did are actually taught in self-defense classes for women, I don't recommend choosing to fight in a situation where an attacker is armed. If at all possible, be more aware of your surroundings than Sara and Ava were. Ava is not wrong when she thinks that they got lucky, even if they were both trained in various forms of martial arts.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the Sharpes - a.k.a. Ava dies of embarrassment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. There has been lots of exhaustion and not a lot of writing time this week, and this is my last buffer chapter of this fic, which means waits are apt to be a little longer from now on. Hopefully you'll all bear with me. And hopefully the next chapter will be worth the wait!  
> I love seeing a lot of your names pop up in the comments for my other fics, too, so thanks for supporting all of my writing and not just this story. It means a lot and definitely inspires me to write more!   
> <3

Ava answered her phone without thinking when it rang. It was Amaya. It wasn’t unusual for Amaya to call her. 

She should have thought first. 

“Hey! What’s up?”

“YOU WERE ASSAULTED AND I HAD TO HEAR ABOUT IT FROM ZARI????”

Crap. She should have told her. It was just that things last night were hectic and then she was sorting everything out in her head, and this morning she’d been focussed on homework. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! And it was more like attempted burglary!”

“ZARI SAID THE ONE GUY HAD A KNIFE!”

“Armed robbery?” Ava suggested. 

“AVA MARIE SHARPE! I AM YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TELL ME ABOUT THINGS LIKE YOUR LIFE BEING IN DANGER AND YOU BEATING UP BAD GUYS!”

“I knooooow!” Ava wailed. “I’m sorry!”

Amaya humphed. “Okay,” she said. “Are you okay?” she asked a moment later, her voice laced with concern. 

“Yeah. I am. I mean, I’ll be hyper aware in parking lots from now on, but I’m okay. They didn’t hurt me or Sara. Not really. Just a little traumatizing, is all.”

“I bet. I’d have been terrified.”

“I don’t think my heart has ever beaten so fast,” Ava replied. 

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” Amaya said softly. “I don’t know what I’d do if something had happened to you.”

Ava’s thoughts turned instantly to Sara. She wondered if she’d ever said something similar to Laurel before she’d died. She took a deep, shaky breath. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Amaya asked. She was always so intuitive.

“Yeah, just...thinking about Sara,” Ava admitted. 

“What else is new?” Amaya teased. 

“Hey! I think about other things.”

“Like calling your best friend to let her know you got attacked but are okay?” Amaya said pointedly. 

“Again, sorry!”

Amaya chuckled. “It’s okay. I might have flipped out on Zari a little, though.”

“You guys are spending a lot of time together recently, huh?” Ava asked. 

“Well, see, my best friend happened to abandon me for her hot new girlfriend, soooo…”

“I did not abandon you!” Ava argued. “We hung out Friday night!”

“With everyone else, but okay, true. Not completely abandoned. And I understand the allure of a new relationship.”

“I promise I will never ever leave you behind just for some girl,” Ava declared.

“Except she’s not, is she?” Amaya asked, a little too quickly. 

It caught Ava off-guard. “She’s not what?”

“Just some girl,” Amaya replied. 

Ava bit her lip, the words she’d thought the night before echoing around her head. “No. She’s not.”

“Ava?”

Ava didn’t want to know where that questioning tone was going to go, but she replied anyway. “Yeah?”

“How far have you fallen?”

Ava swallowed nervously. “Too far,” she admitted. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“Not yet,” Ava said. 

“Okay. Well, when you’re ready,” Amaya offered. 

“Thanks,” Ava replied. 

“There’s actually something...I’m not sure I’m ready, but when I am that I want to talk to you about.”

Ava frowned, her interest piquing. “What?’

Amaya chuckled. “I believe I said I wasn’t ready?”

“You said you weren’t sure you’re ready. You could get sure.”

Amaya laughed again. “I promise you’ll be the first to know when I am.”

“That’s just teasing!” Ava complained. “You know how curious I can get! It’s why I’m good at science!”

“You’ll survive.”

Ava sighed. “I guess.”

“Do you think Sara’s fallen with you?” Amaya asked. 

Ava sighed again. “I don’t know. I don’t think she could have. Not so far so fast.”

“I think you’d be surprised.”

“You haven’t been talking to her about me have you?” Ava demanded, her heart starting to race. 

“No! I just have eyes. And talk to Zari, who talks to Sara,” Amaya replied. 

“What does she say to Zari exactly?”

“If you think that Zari tells me exactly what Sara tells her, you’re underestimating the kind of friend Zari is,” Amaya informed her. “But I think it’s safe to say that Sara cares about you a lot.”

Cares about. Yes. Ava knew that. She did. It wasn’t quite loving, though, was it? 

“Okay. Thanks.”

“You could always talk to her about your feelings!” Amaya suggested. 

“Yeah, that sounds like fun. I’ll get right on that,” Ava replied sarcastically. 

“Worth a shot,” Amaya said. 

“Stop doing the sage best friend thing!” Ava complained. 

“But then I wouldn’t be me,” Amaya countered. “And I am your best friend because I’m me.”

“I hate that you’re right,” Ava muttered. 

“You love that I’m right,” Amaya shot back. 

“Fine,” Ava said. There was a small pause and then Ava said, “Hey, thanks for calling to check on me.”

“What are best friends for?”

  
  
  
  


_ So have your parents decided they hate me yet? _

Ava laughed when the text came through. She rolled her eyes and texted Sara back. She’d had time to wind down about the excitement from the day before, and after a good night’s sleep, she was feeling more in control of things. Well, more in control of everything that wasn’t the way she felt about Sara, at least.

_ No. Don’t worry. You’re still welcome to dinner.  _

_ You’re sure? They don’t think I endangered you after what happened yesterday? _

_ Definitely not.  _ Ava assured her. This was stupid, she decided and she went to Sara’s info and called her. 

“If anything they’re impressed with how protective yoru dad was and how you tried to protect me,” Ava said in lieu of a greeting. 

“Hello to you, too, Sunshine,” Sara replied. 

Ava giggled. “Hi.”

There was a pause. 

“Is it stupid that it’s nice to hear your voice?” Sara asked. 

The question made Ava swallow down a sudden lump in her throat. She’d been thinking the same thing, but hadn’t dared say it. “No,” she replied, with a squeak in her voice. 

“There was a split second yesterday when I thought...Well, it doesn’t really matter, because I didn’t, but...I missed you last night. God, that’s stupid, too. Ignore that. I’m being a sap for no reason.”

Ava wanted to ask what Sara had thought, but in truth she had a pretty good idea. She’d thought the same. What if she’d lost Sara? The thought had been terrifying, and she didn’t have the trauma of losing a sister to make it so much worse. “It’s not stupid,” Ava replied. “I missed you, too.”

“Really?”

It was weird hearing Sara sound so unsure of herself. There was a tension in their conversation that felt heavy with words they weren’t saying. Ava didn’t know what Sara might be holding back, but she knew what she was afraid would slip out. She needed to break the charged atmosphere. She needed to change the subject. 

“After I finished my homework, of course,” Ava teased, and to her relief Sara chuckled. 

“Nerd,” she accused affectionately. 

“That’s me,”she agreed. 

“I guess I should go get ready. I’m gonna see you in an hour,” Sara said. 

“You mean you haven’t been picking out your outfit for hours?” Ava gasped, pretending to be shocked. 

“Hours? I picked it out days ago. Took me all day!” Sara shot back and they both laughed. “Gotta be prepared for my interrogation after you did so well in yours.”

“I’ve told them to be nice. I’m playing up the we’re so fragile from yesterday thing,” Ava informed her. 

“Because we are obviously such delicate flowers,” Sara said, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“Obviously,” Ava agreed. 

“That was kinda a shitty way to end our date, though,” Sara said after a pause, voice genuine once more. 

“Yeah...Were your nightmares bad last night?”

“No worse than usual. Somehow I’m never as scared by things that threaten my own safety as I am by things that threaten those I care about. If you hadn’t been with me...I don’t think I’d have been scared at all.”

Ava swallowed another lump down at Sara’s implication. 

“Did you have any nightmares?” Sara asked. 

“No,” Ava confessed, almost feeling guilty about that fact. 

“Good,” Sara replied. There was no blame in her voice. Sara sighed. “Okay, well, I guess I really will let you go.”

“You don’t have to,” Ava said. 

Sara chuckled. “If I don’t we’ll still be on the phone when I ring your doorbell.”

“I’m okay with that,” Ava replied. She wished it was more of a joke, but now that she’d had the separation and the time to deal, she was suddenly missing Sara acutely. 

Sara laughed again. “I’ll see you soon, Sunshine.”

Ava repressed a sigh. “See you soon,” she echoed. 

She hung up and turned her eyes to her ceiling. 

“I love you,” she whispered experimentally to her empty room. She closed her eyes and shook her head. 

No. Nope. No way. It was one thing to know it and something else entirely to say it. Sara wasn’t even there and the words had still made her heart race and her palms feel clammy. 

“I like you a lot,” she tried. It was funny how such similar words could feel so differently weighted in her mind. 

She groaned and threw her arm over her head. She needed to worry about dinner first and then she could deal with her feelings later. 

Much later. 

After Sara had left, later. 

Maybe sometime next week, later. 

Or the week after. 

Or the week after that.

Yeah, that sounded doable. 

_ Sara _ . The name flitted unwillingly through her mind and her heart skipped a beat. 

She groaned again. 

“Totally doable,” she muttered. 

  
  


“No, they’ve been separated about six months, officially, but things have been going downhill for longer,” Sara was explaining and Ava was cringing as she did so. 

Why had her parents had to ask about Sara’s mom? Maybe she should have given them a brief summary of Sara’s family before the dinner. Like just a little heads up about Laurel and her family. It hadn’t seemed like her story to tell, but the idea of it blindsiding her parents now and making dinner even more awkward made her cringe. 

“But you said she moved out here, too? That must be nice. Do you see her often?” Ava’s dad asked. 

Ava cringed again. 

“Not really,” Sara replied. “She’s busy trying to build a new life here at the moment. Besides school and stuff keeps me pretty busy.”

Sara winked at Ava as she said that. 

“Stuff like dating our daughter,” Ava’s mom said pointedly. 

Sara smiled. “As of recently, yes.”

“You know, I forgot to ask earlier, how recently?” 

Ava looked sheepishly at Sara. 

“We were just friends when I first met you,” Sara said, at the same time that Ava muttered, “About a week.”

“Didn’t we meet you about a week ago?” Ava’s dad asked with a frown. 

“We had our first date last Friday,” Ava explained. “We never lied. And we wanted to figure out what we were before explaining it to you.”

“And that is?” her mother prompted. 

“Girlfriends,” Ava replied. 

“In the romantic not platonic way,” Sara added with a smile so charming Ava could see it starting to melt her mother’s doubts. 

“I see. Well, I suppose I can understand that. Relationships can be tricky when you’re first starting, after all. I wasn’t dating so very long ago that I don’t remember that.”

“It was like twenty-five years ago that you met dad,” Ava argued. 

“That can’t be right. I’m not that old,” her dad joked. 

“Tell that to your gray hairs, dear,” her mother teased gently. 

“What gray hairs?” he demanded, pretending to be outraged at the suggestion as he touched the salt-and-pepper patches above his temples. 

Sara laughed and Ava rolled her eyes, but had to smile. They were a pain, but she did love them. 

“You know I never had a single gray hair until Ava came along,” he said in a stage whisper to Sara, as if he was confiding some big secret. 

“Heeeey! I didn’t make you old!” Ava protested as Sara shot her an amused look. 

“You certainly gave  _ me _ some gray hairs,” her mother replied. 

Ava pouted and Sara chuckled, but reached out to pat her arm. Ava couldn’t help but smile at the touch. Sara’s eyes crinkled in amusement as she met her gaze and Ava grinned wider. God, she was stunning. 

It took Ava a long moment to realize that she had all but forgotten that her parents were still there. 

She cleared her throat and looked down at her plate, shoving a large bite in her mouth before glancing back at her parents. Her mom was giving her a knowing look, and Ava could feel her cheeks flushing with warmth. 

“So, you never did tell us about how the amusement park was...before all that...unpleasantness,” her mother said, making a face. It was clear she was trying to tread carefully around the attack in fears of making it even more traumatic. 

“It was a lot of fun. We got all the homework done early so then we could just enjoy the rides and each other’s company,” Ava said. 

“I’m a big roller coaster fan,” Sara said, “and I had a beautiful, intelligent girl on my arm, so it was pretty much perfect.”

Ava blushed, but her dad said, “Ah young love. So sweet.”

Ava’s eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed an even darker shade of red as her heart pounded harder in her chest. She was only vaguely aware of the small thump and her dad saying, “Ow! What was that- Oh.”

She didn’t dare look at Sara. 

Why had her dad had to use the word “love”. It wasn’t like it hadn’t been banging around her head all day anyway, but did he have to say it when she was sitting there right next to her? 

“So any big plans this week?” her mom asked. “I trust you’re still able to get all your homework done with all this dating?” 

Ava rolled her eyes, but was thankful for the change of subject. “Always, mom.”

“I wouldn’t dare get in the way of Ava’s perfect GPA. School comes first,” Sara replied. 

Ava risked a glance at her, but she wasn’t looking at her. She was, instead, smiling charmingly at her parents. 

“And, no. No plans, yet,” Ava informed them. 

“Okay, well remember your dad and I are going out of town next weekend for that conference. We’ll be back late Wednesday. I expect you girls to be  _ responsible _ while we’re gone.”

The emphasis on responsible was impossible to miss, and Ava knew her mother well enough to know what she was really saying. Her throwing parties wasn’t something they’d ever been especially worried about before, but having a girlfriend and no parental supervision? Well...Ava got the gist. 

“Mooom,” she complained. 

“No wild parties. Amaya is fine. And that new friend you’ve mentioned. What’s her name? Zaza or something?”

“Zari,” Ava supplied. 

“And Sara, of course you’re still welcome to come over...Just-”

“Mom!” Ava warned. 

“Look, I’m a modern parent-“

“Please, stop,” Ava pleaded. 

“And I know you girls are growing up-“

“I will give anything for this conversation to end right here,” Ava groaned, not willing to make eye contact with Sara. 

Her mother continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “And there are urges and temptations-“

“Oh, God,” Ava groaned, burying her face in her hands.

“And you are both nice, responsible girls, so we trust your judgement-“

“Please, please let this end,” Ava muttered, her voice muffled by her hands. 

“But please remember that whatever physical steps you take...once you’ve taken them they can’t be, um, well, untaken, if you get what I mean.”

“The silverware gets what you mean,” Ava grumped still from the safety of her hands. 

“Yes, well, it’s clear that the two of you care a great deal about each other, which is obviously incredibly important, but this is a new relationship, so just-“

“Mom, for the love of God if this conversation doesn’t stop right now I’m moving out!”

She heard Sara chuckle beside her, but still didn’t dare look at her. Mortified was an understatement of how she felt. She glanced at her dad, who at least had the decency to look slightly uncomfortable. 

“Okay, alright, Miss Dramatic. I was just saying-“

“We got it. Thank you!” Ava declared. “And now I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” her mother said. 

Ava risked a small glance at Sara out of her corner of her eye. 

She looked slightly amused. How she could have been anything other than incredibly embarrassed and itching to leave, Ava didn’t know. 

“So we can trust you girls in the house next weekend?” her father asked. 

“I don’t know. I’m currently contemplating burning it down to rid myself of all memories of this conversation,” Ava muttered. 

Sara let out a light, musical laugh and reached out to put a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it is still standing and in perfect working order when you get back,” Sara said. 

“Suck up,” Ava accused, but when Sara glanced at her and their eyes met she felt her heart skip a beat. “So does you trusting our judgment mean that the open door policy is no longer a thing?” she asked, turning back to her mother. 

Her mother looked at her sternly and cleared her throat. Ava could practically hear her response already. 

“Well, your father and I have talked it over...We’re still more comfortable with you leaving the door to your bedroom at least partially open if you’re in there together when we’re home during the day. Obviously what you get up to when we’re not home we can’t control. And we, um, anticipate future sleepovers, so our rule for night...Obviously we’d be more comfortable if Sara still stayed in the guest room, but we were, um, young adults once, too, and we know...As long as the door’s not latched and you are respectful of the fact that you are in our house and we ARE just down the hall…”

Ava’s eyes went wide as she looked from her mom to her dad, who was squirming uncomfortably in his seat, and back. Had she just gotten permission for Sara to stay in her room with her?? With the door practically closed????

“Another year and you’ll be off to college anyway. Time we loosened the reins a little, perhaps,” her dad added, at least having the decency to look like he wished he were having any other conversation. 

“I do worry about leaving you alone so soon after yesterday’s incident,” her mother said. “Maybe I should stay and let you go to the conference on your own, honey.”

“Mom, I’ll be fine! Look I could even stay at Sara’s if you want! We’d be perfectly safe with a police officer in the house!” 

Ava saw the hesitance in her mom at the presented choices. On the one hand she wouldn’t be alone. On the other hand she’d likely be in bed with Sara. It was a choice she knew her mother would have issues with and she knew it was apt to get her her way. 

“You’re not too traumatized by yesterday?” her mom asked. 

“I’m more traumatized by the conversation we just had,” Ava replied honestly and Sara snorted. 

Her mother sighed. “I suppose you’ll be okay. Perhaps you could stay with Sara if you feel unsafe at all.”

“She’s always welcome,” Sara said, which made Ava realize that she had basically invited herself over to a place where Sara didn’t even want to be every night, and suddenly she felt even more self-conscious. 

“Well, okay, then.”

“And my dad will be super quick to answer his phone after yesterday, so if we were here and needed anything he’d respond quickly,” Sara assured her, and Ava watched her mother relax. 

Ava felt the dangled freedom returning. The only question was: what would she do with it?


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More school shenanigans and then Sara and Ava get some quality time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an extra long one, so I hope it tides you over for a while. If you haven't check out my other stories Stuck With You and Golddust while you're waiting for updates of this one, because including my mad archer/curious archer hsau for the ouat fandom, I'm now juggling 4 ongoing multichapter fics, 3 kids, 1 husband, multiple house guests, and I still enjoy things like eating and sleeping from time to time.

Ava didn’t know what she expected school on Monday to be like. She didn’t really expect it to be substantially different from any Monday before. She doubted that word would have gotten around too far about her and Sara’s dangerous encounter. 

What she knew for sure she wasn’t expecting, was to be greeted with a massive rainbow flag hung above the doors of the school. A rather grumpy looking custodian was already taking it down, but that was only the first of many surprises in store for her. 

Sara met her before she even reached her locker and linked their arms with a mischievous smile on her face. 

“We have a fan club,” she informed her. 

Ava frowned in confusion. “What?”

Before Sara could respond, a girl Ava thought she recognized as a freshman walked past and saluted. “Cult leader,” she addressed Sara. 

Sara shot her a wink and the girl giggled and carried on. 

Ava shot Sara a questioning look. 

“Zari’s shenanigans have taken on a life of their own over the weekend.”

“What?” Ava asked, still not quite sure what Sara meant. 

“Here, I’ll show you.” Sara steered her away from her locker and Ava wasn’t quite sure where they were headed until she spotted Guinevere up ahead. 

“What’re we-”

“Watch,” Sara said. 

Ava saw two guys (one of whom she recognized as a British transplant she shared a few classes with) walking near Guinevere stop when they noticed her, turn to each other and kiss dramatically. 

“Viva la cult!” one of them shouted before they both dissolved into laughter and patted each other on the back as they moved quickly away. 

Guinevere shot daggers at them, then noticed Ava and Sara. If looks could kill, they’d both be dead, but then, much to Ava’s surprise, rather than storming over to them, Guinevere looked away, shoved some books in her backpack, and hurried off. 

“Leo and some of the other guys from the football team saw her out over the weekend and decided to have a bit more fun. A few of them kissed and claimed they’d been recruited to our cult. Apparently it’s spiraled from there,” Sara said, looking more than a little amused. 

“Seriously?” Ava asked, aware that she was gaping a little. 

“You saw the flag out front, right?” Recruitment is up,” Sara replied with a giggle. 

“This is insane.”

“This is amazing,” Sara countered. “I saw Constantine kissing Gary earlier in front of her and I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe.” 

“Gary?” Ava asked, trying to place the name. She wasn’t thrilled with the mention of Constantine, but it didn’t spark the same stab of jealousy as it had the week before. 

“Nerdy-looking guy. Bit of a follower. Dark hair and glasses?”

Ava nodded as recognition dawned. “Oh yeah. Wow, really? Did he panic?”

Sara laughed. “I think he swooned, to be honest.” 

Ava couldn’t help but laugh. 

  
  


It seemed surreal as they passed through the day. Anytime Guinevere was around same-sex friends would turn to each other and kiss. A few people did it when they saw Sara and Ava even when Guinevere was nowhere to be found. Those who didn’t kiss gave them thumbs up signs or held up their fists in a “we’re with you” kind of way. Only a few students seemed unmoved by the new movement and even fewer seemed outright disgusted. 

On their way to physics Ava’s eyes went wide as one of the secretaries from the office passed them and said, “Nice to see recruitment going so well.”

Sara collapsed into giggles after she’d walked out of earshot and Ava had to lean against a wall. “Was that real?” 

“This day just keeps getting better and better!” Sara declared. She leaned in to Ava and kissed her. “Best part is after today nobody is going to blink an eye when I do this,” she added.

Ava knew they were at school and on the verge of being late for class, but she pushed off the wall and captured Sara’s lips in another kiss anyway. 

When they walked into class, nobody seemed to be in their normal seat. It didn’t take them long to find out why. 

Nate, right up front, spotted them first. “Cult leaders!” he addressed them, bowing his head dramatically, but barely able to contain his grin. 

Every other student in the class except Guinevere sitting all the way in the back with the hood on her sweatshirt up and her eyes narrowed into slits, turned to them and greeted them in the same way. Then, without missing a beat, everyone except for the poor girl seated beside Guinevere turned to their bench partner and kissed them. 

When Mr. Stein walked into the room a few minutes later, Ava and Sara had barely made it to their seats and were still howling with laughter. 

Guinevere had added sunglasses to her getup. 

  
  


Tuesday morning the rainbow flag was hanging once again, and a bisexual flag hung across Sara’s locker. 

By Wednesday people were wearing pins that said “Proud Avalance Cult Member”. Zari’s comment of, “How disgustingly cute: you’ve got your own ship name,” did nothing to dampen Ava’s amusement. If anything it only served to add an extra thrill of excitement that people actively wanted them to be together.

On Thursday nobody bothered to try to take down the dozen or so rainbow and bisexual flags that had popped up around the school.  At lunchtime an announcement sounded over the loudspeaker that left Ava, Sara, and their table of friends in stitches and was met with a resounding chorus of boos from their fellow students. “It has come to our attention that there have been considerably more PDAs than usual this week. We would like to remind you all that this is a place of learning, so please keep your hands and mouths to yourselves during school hours.”

By Friday Ava had practically forgotten what it felt like not to be out at school. People she’d never talked to greeted her enthusiastically in the hallway. Rumors that even middle schoolers had started wearing the Avalance Cult Member pins began to make the rounds. At least seven people had come up to her and Sara over the course of the week and thanked them for being brave and inspiring and telling them that they were on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, too and now felt safe enough at school to come out. What had started as a scheme to get Guinevere off their backs had turned into a district-wide movement. 

Ava had almost forgotten that her parents were leaving for their trip the next morning too until they had reminded her over breakfast along with another lecture about responsibility. 

Ava had not forgotten that no parents meant an empty house for her and Sara to be in together. 

Ava also had not forgotten the feelings for Sara that she’d admitted to herself, but not yet to anybody else. In fact, every day they sat more heavily in her mind, and she was beginning to worry that her tongue would soon blurt them out with no actual consent from her brain. 

Sara touched her arm gently and leaned in. “Physics project write up tomorrow?” She suggested. 

They’d worked up the equations they needed to earlier in the week in the school library to resist temptation and actually get their work done. All they had left was the analysis and write up and they would be done with their project well ahead of everyone else. 

That wasn’t all that Ava wanted to do tomorrow though, and the thought made her heart beat twice as fast. 

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

“I can’t believe you’re choosing homework over me on a Friday night,” Sara lamented, threading her fingers through Ava’s. 

Ava couldn’t help but lean in towards her. “I’ve got that paper due in AP Lit and Mr. Lyons has piled on Calc homework before our test next week. If I do it tonight then I can still spend the weekend with you,” Ava pointed out. 

“You make a compelling point,” Sara said, pressing her forehead to Ava’s. 

Ava bumped her nose against Sara’s, teasing a kiss. 

Sara grumped in protest and pushed up into a proper kiss that Ava couldn’t help but smile into.

She felt the words she needed not to say yet sitting heavy at the back of her throat and broke the kiss, pulling away with her heart racing just a little faster. 

“Okay?” Sara asked. 

Ava nodded. “Don’t think anyone’s going to notice us kissing in the halls anymore.”

Sara chuckled. “If they do they’re more apt to cheer than stare, at least.”

Piercing blue eyes looked up at her with a mischievous gleam and her heart pounded even harder in her chest. She bit her lower lip as if in doing so she could keep the words from slipping out. 

“I guess I shouldn’t walk you home, then?”

“I think I’d have trouble not inviting you in,” Ava confessed. 

“I’m okay with that,” Sara replied with a smirk. She pressed up and stole a quick kiss. 

“Patience is a virtue.”

Sara rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. Tomorrow? For physics homework.”

For more than that, Ava thought, but she nodded. “Tomorrow,” she agreed. 

  
  
  


Ava jumped when the doorbell rang. She was expecting it, but she was on edge. It wasn’t because her parents were gone. She LIKED being alone in her house. It had nothing to do with being attacked less than a week ago, though she had found herself feeling momentarily panicked when she let her brain think about what COULD have happened. 

Yet her heart was racing and her mind felt too busy. 

She opened the door and the noise in her head quieted, focusing to a single thought as Sara, leaning coolly against the doorframe, crooked smirk on her face, and blue eyes bright, greeted her. She had her leather jacket on but open, revealing a pale blue v-neck underneath that only served to bring out her eyes. 

“Parents get off okay?” 

Ava nodded, biting back the words that threatened to spill out once again. 

Sara dangled her backpack from a finger as she moved past Ava into her house. She headed for the living room, but Ava wasn’t really interested in doing more homework right now. 

They’d been so good all week. It had helped that it had been a heavy homework week for both of them, but they’d largely avoided being alone together. It was so much easier to resist temptation in the presence of others. 

Ava was tired of being good. She was tired of resisting. She was already sunk. She was already head over heels with Sara. How much worse could sleeping with her make it?

“What’re you doing?” Ava asked as Sara dropped her bag on the floor by the couch and sat down on it. 

“I thought...the physics?” Sara said, digging a notebook out of her backpack. 

“I thought...maybe it could wait,” Ava replied, her eyes darting to the stairs then back to Sara. 

Sara raised an eyebrow at her and put her notebook down on the coffee table. She made no move to get up, though. “I didn’t want to assume that we were going to have sex just because your parents are gone. We’re not living in a teen romcom…”

Ava moved to Sara and reached out for her hand. 

Sara looked at it for a moment, then took it and let Ava tug her to her feet. Ava didn’t hesitate to pull her into a kiss, tongue flicking against Sara’s lips which parted willingly. Ava let the kiss linger before pulling back just enough to talk. 

“What about now?” 

She heard the hint of hoarseness in her own voice, but it was nothing compared to the huskiness of Sara’s voice when she replied, “Rethinking things.”

Ava kissed her again, deeper and with purpose, then she gave Sara’s hand a squeeze and led her up the stairs and straight to her room. 

As soon as the door was shut behind them, Ava pinned Sara to it with a searing kiss the way that Sara had done so many times to her. She slid the fingers of one hand into Sara’s soft hair while her other hand anchored at Sara’s waist under her jacket, holding her close. 

“Are you sure?” Sara panted against her lips, her voice doing things to Ava. 

Ava felt a last hint of insecurity threaten to ruin her confidence. Sara had been with lots of girls. Maybe she was so good at stopping them from going too far because she wasn’t as interested as she seemed. She stepped back and looked shyly at Sara. “Do you want me?” 

“So fucking bad,” Sara confirmed without a moment’s hesitation. Her eyes trailed over Ava with such a lustful gaze Ava was surprised it didn’t leave scorch marks on her shirt. “I’ve wanted you from the very moment I first laid eyes on you.”

Ava bit back a whimper at that confession and brought her hands up to the top button of her white button-down shirt. Her hands only shook slightly as she unbuttoned each one in turn, Sara’s eyes following her movements hungrily, though she stayed where she was against the door. 

When the last button was undone she let her shirt slip off her shoulders and drop to the floor. She swallowed hard then met Sara’s gaze. “Then take me,” she invited. 

Sara surged forward, her lips slamming against Ava’s, her hands pressing against her back as Ava stumbled backwards, Sara coming with her. Ava pushed at Sara’s jacket until it slid down her arms and joined her shirt on the floor, and Sara broke their kiss just long enough to yank off her own t-shirt, tossing it carelessly aside. 

Ava’s knees buckled when her calves hit the bed, and she fell back onto it. Sara climbed up over her as she scooted back, laying back as Sara’s lips captured hers once more. 

She felt Sara’s skin pressed firmly against hers, warm and smooth and inviting, and Ava wrapped her arms around her, holding her even closer, hands splayed across her shoulder blades.

Sara broke their kiss with a gasp, her breath falling hot and sweet against Ava’s cheek. She kissed her way across Ava’s jawline to her ear. 

“That was so fucking coy,” Sara murmured with a chuckle, the fingers of one hand trailing up Ava’s side and making her shiver. She nudged Ava’s earlobe with her nose, then nibbled gently at it, flicking her tongue against it in a way that sent chills of excitement radiating down to Ava’s stomach. 

Sara’s words sparked a glimmer of self-consciousness. Ava remembered what she’d said about this not being a teenage movie, yet here she was acting like the teenage stereotype the second her parents went out of town. 

“Too much?” Ava breathed as Sara’s lips worked their way down her throat and her fingers trailed along the underside of Ava’s bra. 

She felt Sara shake her head against her neck, Sara’s hair tickling at her shoulder and her throat. 

“No,” Sara replied. She trailed her tongue across Ava’s collarbone, leaving a trail of wetness that chilled in the cool air of the room, before placing a kiss at the base of her throat. 

Ava tilted her head back and arched her back slightly, her mouth parted in a silent moan. 

“It was cute,” Sara informed her with a kiss just above her breast, her fingers sliding around to her back and finding the hook to her bra. “And hot,” Sara added as her fingers deftly unfastened Ava’s bra, the fabric sitting loosely across her breasts. She kissed the top of Ava’s breast, just visible above the bra. 

Ava shuddered and let one of her hands slide up Sara’s back to thread through her silky hair. 

“And sexy,” Sara added, sliding further down and placing two small kisses across Ava’s stomach trailing down towards her belly button. 

Ava’s hand that wasn’t tangled in Sara’s hair reached out and grabbed her sheets and she felt a throb in her clit in anticipation of what she knew the afternoon held in store for them. 

“And perfect,” Sara murmured hotly against her hipbone, tongue darting out to lick before her lips closed on it in a wet kiss. 

Sara slid back up her body and stared down at her, eyes darker than normal, gaze sharp. “You’re perfect,” she breathed, voice barely above a whisper. 

Ava blinked hard, emotions thrumming through her chest with every beat of her racing heart. 

Sara captured Ava’s lips for a fierce kiss and Ava brought her hand back up to cup Sara’s face, but she pulled away far too soon. 

“What’re you doing with a fuck up like me?” Sara asked, leaning back, away. 

Ava held her close and searched her eyes, looking for answers - just a single reason - why Sara had so much doubt in herself. “You’re not a fuck up!” she replied vehemently. “You’re amazing, and I-“

Ava cut herself off, the words that she didn’t dare yet say dying on her tongue, and instead she pulled Sara in for another kiss, deep and slow and passionate, hoping her lips and her tongue could tell Sara just how worth it she was without her words spilling out and spoiling things. 

Sara sank into the kiss, her body pressing down into Ava’s, the hitch in her breath felt in the tensing of her stomach as Ava ran her fingers down over her shoulders and found the hook of her bra. 

Ava let her fingers trace around it for a moment, relishing in the shudder it produced in Sara, then she unfastened it, feeling the snap of the fabric being released. 

Sara broke their kiss and leaned to the side enough to shrug off her bra and cast it aside. 

Ava gasped as her eyes drank in the sight of Sara’s chest, smooth, pale skin rounding perfectly to hardening nipples. She was so distracted she barely noticed as Sara ran a finger down her chest, hooking the front of her bra and dragging the loose garment down until it caught on her arm. 

Ava moved to allow it to be freed, and tossed to the ground and then Sara was surging down into another kiss. Her nipples brushed against Ava’s breasts, as Sara worked a hand between them. Ava felt her pulse quicken further as Sara’s fingers traced sloppy lines down her stomach. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips when Sara found the button on her jeans and set to work undoing it. 

“Okay?” Sara asked, her fingers pausing in a way that made Ava’s hips cant up in an encouraging motion. 

“Better than okay,” Ava assured her, her lips ghosting along Sara’s cheek. 

She felt Sara grin, and her fingers resumed their mission. 

Ava kissed across to Sara’s pulse point and she flicked her tongue out, feeling the fast thrum of her heartbeat. 

“Fuck, why is this button so hard?” Sara growled, pulling back and sitting up, straddling Ava’s legs. 

Ava’s chuckle caught in her throat when she gazed up at Sara, chest bare, eyes hooded, cheeks flushed, body rising and falling with heavy breaths. Her expression was intent as she focused on undoing Ava’s button, making quick work of it now she could see what she was doing. 

“Fuck,” Ava murmured when Sara’s eyes met hers and she could really see the hunger in them. 

She needed more. She needed to be touching more, seeing more, feeling everything. 

Sara bit her lower lip, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, as she curled her fingers in the waistband of Ava’s jeans and began to pull them down. Her eyes stayed glued on Ava’s, and Ava found it suddenly difficult to remember to breathe, as Sara moved on down her legs, taking her jeans with her. 

When Sara stood at the end of the bed, Ava let her eyes trail down over pert breasts and taught abs to where the top of a v peeked out above the top of Sara’s jeans. 

She sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed and helped kick her jeans off over her feet as she did so, then she pulled Sara down for a kiss, letting her hands find Sara’s waistband. 

She peppered quick kisses down Sara’s throat as her fingers fumbled over Sara’s button and Sara laced her fingers through her hair. Sara’s hand gripped a little tighter in her hair when Ava’s felt the satisfying pop of the button coming undone while her lips played along Sara’s chest. 

Sara’s fingers loosened and slid around to cup her face as Ava pulled back enough to see what she was doing. Ava’s fingers found Sara’s zipper and yanked it down, then she hooked her fingers through her belt loops. 

Sara’s hips wiggled to help her as she dragged her jeans down, and then Sara stepped out of them, kicking them away before stepping closer again. 

Ava pulled her into her lap, and was rewarded by a slight squeal of surprise as Sara straddled her lap. She chuckled against Sara’s collarbone, placing languid kisses along it as she did so.

“I’ve already made you swear and we’re barely getting started,” Sara murmured in her ear, her voice low and husky, sending an excited tickle straight to Ava’s core. 

Ava’s breath hitched, but she wasn’t about to leave the implied challenge unanswered. She kissed down across Sara’s chest, her hands ghosting up Sara’s sides, tracing the bump of each rib. She kissed down between Sara’s breast, trailing her hands around to press into the curve of her back as Sara arched into her. 

She kissed the side of Sara’s right breast, letting her lips linger on the firm skin. She could feel Sara’s anticipation as she held her breath, released in a strangled sigh when Ava’s lips closed over her nipple. She let her tongue flick out first quickly, and then slower, tasting the sweetness of her erect nipple. 

Sara’s breath caught again and then released in a shuddery “Oh God!” when Ava sucked gently at her nipple. 

“Feeling religious?” Ava teased against Sara’s skin, moving to Sara’s other breast, tracing slow, wet circles around her nipple with her tongue. 

Sara let out a small whimper and ground down into Ava’s lap. “Feeling something,” she gasped. 

Ava chuckled before sucking Sara’s other nipple into her mouth, her hands pressing firm against her back, holding her close, feeling the way her muscles tensed when she flicked her tongue a little harshly against the tip of her nipple. 

Ava released it with a satisfyingly wet pop and looked up at Sara, eyes hungry. 

Sara surged down into a kiss pushing her back. Ava’s back hit the bed and she scooted up towards the pillow, Sara coming with her, lips never leaving hers. 

Sara pulled back and looked down at her, eyes searching her face, though for what Ava wasn’t sure. She felt the words threatening to slip out again. The feeling was so overwhelming, she could practically taste them at the tip of her tongue. 

“Sara,” she murmured just to say something in the moment, her heart pounding so hard in her chest that Sara must be able to feel it in hers too. 

“Ava.” Her name fell form Sara’s lips barely more than a whisper, sounding almost reverent. 

And then Sara’s lips were on hers again, hungry and demanding, her tongue sweeping into her mouth tasted sweet. 

Ava let her hands explore the muscles of Sara’s back, fingers pressing firm trails down on either side of her spine then lighter over her hips, ghosting over her butt. 

Why were they still wearing any clothes, she wondered as Sara’s leg slipped between hers, her thigh pressing against her crotch in a way that made her cant her hips up in a bid for more pressure. She knew that Sara could feel how wet she was already through the thin fabric of her underwear, and when she tilted her hips up again she felt Sara moan into her mouth. 

Sara kissed down Ava’s throat, her breasts ghosting against Ava’s skin as she moved. Ava trailed her hands back up, once again tangling her fingers in silky locks as Sara placed wet kisses along her collarbone and proceeded on down. 

Ava felt shivers of excitement as all of her blood flowed south and Sara licked and kissed across her breasts, pausing to suck first one and then the other into her mouth. 

Ava let out a small whimper and arched up when Sara experimentally applied a little pressure to her nipple with her lips. She felt Sara grin against her skin.

Ava’s breathing became erratic as Sara kissed slow, wet kisses across her stomach. Her hands came up to gently massage Ava’s breasts as her tongue traced patterns across her skin.  She rolled both of Ava’s nipples between her fingers as she kissed just below her belly button and Ava gasped out a strangled, “Fuck!” as her body arched off the bed. 

She felt the heat of Sara’s breath as it tickled against her skin when she chuckled. “Two fucks, now,” she murmured.

“Shut up,” Ava muttered, feeling a blush spread up her chest and across her stomach. 

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Sara coaxed, her hands sliding down to Ava’s hips as she kissed lower still. “I like making you swear.”

Sara kissed just above the line of Ava’s underwear, and Ava squirmed in anticipation of what she hoped would come next. 

Sara’s fingertips dipped under the elastic of her underwear and trailed along the skin there as she kissed over the fabric just above her clit. 

Ava shivered and spread her legs wider as Sara shifted still lower. Ava lifted her head to look down at Sara and Sara’s eyes flitted up to meet hers. She held Ava’s gaze as she kissed again, and this time Ava knew that her lips were met with wetness. Sara continued to hold her gaze as she ran her tongue over her lips and began to drag Ava’s underwear down. 

Ava lifted her hips just enough that Sara could slide the underwear down over her butt, her blush returning with a vengeance as Sara tossed her underwear aside, then slowly let her eyes take down over Ava’s body, drinking in the sight of her fully exposed before her. Sara’s tongue darted out to wet her lips and her gaze lingered at her crotch.  Sara climbed back up Ava’s body slowly, letting a hand skim up Ava’s thigh and across her hip and over her stomach before she settled back up, half beside, half on top of Ava, one leg splayed over Ava’s, fingers of one hand dancing in circles across her breasts. 

Sara gazed into her eyes, her fingers trailing back down, spreading out flat against her stomach. 

Ava resisted the urge to buck her hips, but her body ached for Sara’s hand to travel lower still. 

Sara’s gaze flitted between her eyes and Ava swallowed hard as Sara opened her mouth as if to say something, then bit her lip as if holding back whatever it was. 

Before she had a chance to ask, Sara kissed her deeply, fiercely, her tongue sweeping into her mouth and dancing with her own. Ava felt her pulse race and she reached out for purchase on something, anything, only to have her fist tangle in her sheets as her other arm wrapped tightly around Sara, holding her close. 

Sara’s hand ran back down over her hip and thigh, then slowly ghosted her fingers up the inside of her thigh. 

Ava couldn’t help the way her body squirmed in excitement, or the way her hips tilted up towards the touch she was anticipating. 

Ava let out a gasp as Sara’s fingertip brushed through the wetness of her folds, shooting tingles of excitement down to her toes. 

Sara smiled against her lips and kissed her again and again as she dipped her finger in just a little more before sliding it up. 

“Fuck!” Ava whimpered when Sara’s finger, wet with her own juices, brushed over her engorged clit. Her fingers dug into Sara’s back as if that alone could anchor her against the euphoria even the slightest touch from Sara seemed to bring. 

Sara’s finger brushed back down between her folds, pressing deeper this time, sliding excruciatingly slowly inside her, and Ava ground down on it in a desperate bid for more friction. 

Another whimper, this one wordless, escapes Ava’s lips as Sara, just as slowly pulled it back out. 

“Say it again,” Sara coaxed against her lips before kissing a path across to Ava’s ear. “Swear for me again,” she said, adding a second finger and pushing in a little faster this time. 

Ava let out a low moan as Sara’s fingers curled inside her and Sara’s palm pressed against her clit. 

Sara flicked her tongue against Ava’s earlobe, then Ava felt Sara’s teeth graze, ever so gently against the skin of her throat just beneath it. “That’s not a swear,” Sara teased, sliding her fingers out and then in again.

Ava swallowed hard, her body trying to process all of the sensations running through it as her hips canted up, creating more friction against Sara’s palm. 

“Fuck, you’re so wet,” Sara breathed against her throat, her tongue licking a path up before her teeth dragged back down it. 

“Now who’s swearing?” Ava asked, her sentence ending in a sharp intake of breath as Sara thrust in again, this time with more purpose. 

Sara’s mouth latched on to the base of her throat and sucked as she ground her palm against Ava’s clit and curled her fingers inside her. 

“Fuck!” Ava gasped, the sound coming out as a squeak that made Sara giggle against her skin. 

“Still you,” Sara replied, before soothing the skin she’d begun to mark with her tongue. 

Sara moved back to Ava’s lips, capturing them once more with her own as she quickened the pace of her strokes, sometimes pulling all the way out until Ava was aching for the touch, and other times opting for a shallower thrust, but every one set Ava’s body on fire and brought her closer to the edge. 

Sara readjusted above her, letting the weight of her body add to the thrusts and providing still more friction against her clit. Sara’s body moved against hers, skin sliding against skin creating sensations that rippled through her like an electric current. Sara’s lips moved back to her throat, peppering wet sloppy kisses down it as her breathing became ragged. 

Ava’s eyes fluttered closed and her head tilted back. She raked her fingers down Sara’s back, then up over her shoulder, before gripping tightly again as Sara’s fingers thrust deep, curling inside her again and again. Ava’s breath was coming out in shallow gasps, a moan on her lips as Sara’s thumb moved to circle her clit while her fingers continued their thrusts. 

Her body was hitting its limit, the sensations Sara was producing overwhelming her, sparking a shudder that started in her toes and overtook her entire body. Her pussy started to clench around Sara’s fingers and she heard Sara whimper when it did, the hum of it vibrating through her chest and adding to the sensation overload. 

Another firm brush of Sara’s thumb across her clit and curl of her fingers buried deep inside her as Sara’s teeth grazed lightly against her collarbone, and Ava went tumbling over the edge, spasm after spasm wrecking through her body, a drawn out, guttural moan on her lips. 

Sara brought her down slowly with gentle caresses, her lips planting tender kisses up to Ava’s ear. 

“Fuck, that was sexy,” Sara murmured, her voice gravelly. It sent an aftershock through Ava’s body. 

“That’s two to me,” Ava sighed, her euphoria lingering like a haze. 

Sara chuckled against her shoulder, each shake of her shoulders causing movement against Ava’s skin that made it tingle. Sara moved more to the side and slid her fingers slowly, gently out of Ava, who could feel her wetness on her inner thighs. 

Sara made eye contact as she brought her fingers to her lips and sucked them into her mouth. Ava almost came again when Sara’s eyes fluttered closed and a low, satisfied moan emanated from her throat. The hand that had been tangled in her sheets tightened its grip once more. 

“Oh, fuck,” Sara sighed as her glistening fingers left her mouth, her eyes still closed. 

“Three to me,” Ava breathed. 

Sara smirked down at her in a way that set her whole body on fire again. “I’m pretty sure I’m still ahead.”

Ava pulled her down into a kiss, wrapping her arms around Sara’s body, one hand cupping the back of her head. She let her tongue dance it’s way into Sara’s mouth, sweeping against hers, only serving to heighten her own excitement. She flipped them, her leg falling between Sara’s as she did so, pressing against the wetness of her underwear. She heard a small gasp escape Sara’s mouth. 

Ava kissed across to her ear and sucked Sara’s earlobe into her mouth before releasing it with a wet pop. “I’m pretty sure I can fix that,” Ava informed her.

She slid down Sara’s body, placing haphazard kisses along her chest, over her breasts, and on down her stomach, letting her fingers play over the tight muscles there. 

“Oh, fuck!” Sara groaned, lifting her hips as Ava reached her underwear and began to drag it down without hesitation. 

Ava placed slow, wet kisses on each new expanse of skin she revealed. She breathed in deep, sighing at the intoxicating aroma of Sara’s arousal. 

She kissed down Sara’s inner thigh as her hands continued to tug Sara’s underwear down, spreading her hands over muscular legs as she did so. She heard Sara’s breath hitch above her and she had to smile against the pale skin of her leg. 

Sara wanted this as badly as she did. 

She slid Sara’s underwear down over her feet and dropped them to the floor then began to kiss her way up Sara’s other leg, letting her tongue leave wet trails along her inner thighs. She paused just for a moment to trail her eyes over all of Sara, her eyes stopping when they met Sara’s looking back at her, gaze filled with lust. 

She licked long and slow up Sara’s slit, moaning at the heady mixture of salty and sweet now on her tongue.

She heard Sara’s head fall back against the pillow as Sara lifted her hips to meet her mouth, and a guttural “Oh FUCK!” was gasped from her lips. 

Ava’s mouth curved into a smile as she licked again, her tongue sliding easily through Sara’s wet folds. “Five,” she murmured against Sara’s clit. 

Sara’s fingers tangled in her hair and held her close as Ava’s lips closed around Sara’s clit. 

“Oh, my GOD,” Sara moaned. 

Ava chuckled, aware that the sound would vibrate up through Sara’s clit and relishing the shiver that ran through Sara’s body in response. 

“Fuck,” Sara whimpered. 

“Six,” Ava whispered against Sara’s clit before flicking her tongue against it, causing Sara’s hips to buck. 

God she was so responsive. 

Ava ran the flat of her tongue up over Sara’s slit again, ending with another flick across her clit. 

And she tasted so good. Ava had never gotten so worked up just touching someone else before. 

She slid her hands over Sara’s stomach, flattening them on either side of her belly button, her thumbs brushing soothing lines up and down as she kissed and licked at Sara’s clit some more. 

She felt Sara shiver beneath her touch as she adjusted to more easily run her tongue through Sara’s folds, letting one hand slide down so that her thumb could circle Sara’s clit. She ghosted her thumb across the sensitive nub as she pushed her tongue inside of Sara, drinking in the taste of her, relishing in the wetness she found there. 

“Holy crap!” Sara gasped, bucking her hips up as Ava let her tongue explore and rubbed against Sara’s clit a little more firmly with her thumb. 

“Fuuuck,” Sara moaned a moment later when Ava licked long, deep strokes inside of Sara, her thumb finding its rhythm on her clit. 

Ava was doing this to Sara. She was provoking these responses. She was making Sara curse. She was causing the way that Sara’s fingers were clenching in her hair and the way that Sara’s breathing was uneven and that Sara’s back was arching of the bed. 

With each stroke of her tongue and each response from Sara, Ava could feel wetness pooling between her own legs once more. 

Cool, experienced, smirking, sexy, girl that half the school wanted, Sara Lance, was unraveling at her touch. 

She needed to see her. She needed to watch it happen. 

Ava licked again, then moved up, pausing to kiss Sara’s clit on the way. 

Sara’s whimper of protest died on her lips as Ava slid her fingers down over her clit and through her folds, pushing them slowly inside her. 

Ava moved her hand in slow, deliberate thrusts as she kissed her way up Sara’s body, across smooth skin - now glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, along straining muscles as Sara ground down to meet her hand, up supple skin, pausing to lavish some attention on erect nipples. 

“Fuck! Can you just-“ Sara growled, her hips bucking, encouraging Ava to pick up the pace. 

Ava chuckled against her collarbone as she slid her tongue along it. “Eight,” she murmured as she scraped her teeth gently against the base of Sara’s throat. 

Sara growled in response, and when Ava pulled back to look at her, her fingers keeping their slow, deliberate pace, she was met with a whimper. 

Sara’s eyes were darker than they had been, her pupils dilated, her mouth parted in a silent o, full lips inviting. 

Ava relented, kissing her deeply as she quickened the pace of her thrusts. She pressed into Sara’s clit with her palm so the friction of the movement of her hand would heighten the experience, and she was rewarded by a moan which she gladly swallowed with lips. 

She stopped being able to focus on her kisses as her whole body rocked with each thrust of her fingers, Sara’s moving beneath her, more and more frantic as she grew closer. 

Ava pulled back just enough to look at Sara again. Her eyes had fluttered closed, arm muscles on display as she grabbed for purchase on the bed, cheeks flushed an attractive shade of pink, lower lip pulled into her mouth, captured beneath a row of white teeth. 

“Fuck,” Ava breathed, her heart racing just at the sight. She was so incredibly gorgeous. 

Sara’s eyes blinked open to meet hers and Ava felt suddenly breathless. 

She pumped her fingers harder, curling them deep inside of Sara, eyes darting to Sara’s mouth when it opened in a moan. 

“Five,” Sara gasped, breathlessly a moment later. 

It took Ava’s brain a moment to catch up, but then she grinned, ducking her head to Sara’s shoulder, placing small kisses along the soft skin there. 

She curled her fingers again, replacing her palm with her thumb on Sara’s clit so that she could rub more precisely. 

“Fuck!” Sara moaned, her hands moving to Ava’s back, fingers digging in, scraping a path down her skin. 

“Nine for me,” Ava shot back, sinking her teeth into Sara’s shoulder just a little. 

Sara whimpered again and worked her hips even harder against Ava’s fingers. 

“Fuck, I’m so close,” Sara gasped. 

“Should I stop?” Ava teased, slowing her fingers just for a moment as she slid them all the way out. 

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Sara replied, the walls of her pussy hugging her fingers when she thrust back in. 

She could feel Sara beginning to unravel beneath her - her legs beginning to shake, her breath growing shallower, her fingers digging into the flesh of her back even harder. 

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Ava murmured against her lips, stealing a kiss as she curled her fingers again. 

Sara bucked against her, clenching around her fingers, head tilting back. 

Ava did it again and again, matching Sara’s rhythm as her lips found Sara’s pulse point and sucked gently. 

She felt Sara tip over and rode the wave with her, feeling Sara jerk against her touch and clamp around her fingers. She soothed her throat with her tongue and peppered soft kisses across the flushed skin of Sara’s chest, helping her down gently with slow, tender strokes. 

Sara’s eyes fluttered open slowly and she leaned up for a kiss as Ava pulled her fingers out. She broke away to lick them clean, her eyes on Sara’s, a contended hum emanating from the back of her throat. 

Sara kissed her hard the moment she was done, and then rolled her to the side so that they were laying side-by-side, face-to-face. Sara leaned her forehead against Ava’s and rubbed her nose gently against Ava. 

“The things you do to me, Ava Sharpe,” Sara murmured. 

Ava’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be she did to Sara what Sara did to her? She didn’t dare ask. “Like make you swear?” Ava joked. 

Sara chuckled. 

“Eleven times,” Ava added. 

“Feeling pretty cocky, are you?” Sara asked, her voice gravelly. 

Ava grinned in reply, but the truth was she knew that it wouldn’t take much for Sara to completely unravel her again. 

“And to think I only made you swear six times,” Sara lamented with a smirk. She rolled on to her and straddled her for a moment, looking down with a gleam in her eyes. “Guess I’d better catch up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're all thinking: FINALLY!
> 
> I hope it didn't disappoint and was worth the wait.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava deal with some unexpected things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SORRY that this has been ages. I have had horrible, horrible writer's block for weeks now, and it doesn't really seem like it wants to go anywhere, which kind of sucks a lot. I make no promises about future updates being quicker because I have no idea how long this block is apt to stick around. I'll do my best, though. 
> 
> I forgot to say last chapter that when I'm typing on my phone (a lot of the time I'm writing), if I start to mistype "Sara" at all my phone likes to autocorrect it to Satan, and let me tell you I was cracking up writing the last chapter when it kept autocorrecting to Satan. it really changed the chapter.

Waking up next to Sara naked in her bed was exactly as amazing as Ava had thought it would be. Their bodies were tangled together, and Sara’s head was heavy on her chest, but Ava didn’t mind one bit. In fact, it was the most pleasant weight Ava had ever felt, and she wrapped her arm tighter around Sara, holding her close. 

A thought struck her as Sara began to stir, her fingers tickling as they stroked slowly along Ava’s stomach. 

“Good morning,” Sara murmured, her voice husky, and doing things to Ava despite how early it was. 

“Good morning,” Ava replied, and she could hear the happiness pouring out of her own voice. She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face, and she didn’t want to. 

Sara tilted her head up and pressed in for a kiss, a smile playing at her lips. 

For a moment Ava’s thought escaped her and she let the kiss consume her. It was so easy to give herself over to Sara, to let her touches overwhelm her, her lips draw her in, her body invite her to get lost in it. 

There was so much skin touching skin, nipples hardening, fingers beginning to wander. Why wasn’t every morning of her life like this? She could feel herself getting incredibly turned on already. 

Sara broke the kiss a little breathlessly, and Ava’s thought filtered foggily back into her brain. “Did I sleep through your nightmare last night?” Ava asked with a frown.

Sara frowned, too, and pushed up onto her elbow, looking down at her with a puzzled expression on her face. 

“No,” she said in a quiet voice. “You didn’t.”

Ava reached up to cup Sara’s cheek and pressed her thumb to where Sara’s forehead creased between her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Sara’s lips smiled, but the crease remained. “I didn’t have a nightmare last night.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” 

Sara nodded. “Yeah. I, mean, of course, it’s just...I’ve had a nightmare every night since Laurel died, until last night.”

Sara’s eyes focused on Ava’s face, and Ava’s breath hitched at the look she was being given. There was an intensity and a wonder that made her chest feel heavy and she wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but she felt trapped in her gaze.  

“I didn’t here with you,” Sara said, voice barely above a whisper. 

“And is that okay?” Ava asked. 

Sara sat up and looked away and Ava felt like she could breathe freely again. “Yeah. Yes. I...It should be okay, right? I mean, not having a nightmare is a good thing.”

Ava sat up, too, drawing the sheets up around her, and put a soothing hand on Sara’s back, rubbing small circles on her bare skin, feeling the muscles beneath her fingers twitch. “Usually,” Ava replied. 

“I just feel...God, this is gonna sound so stupid,” Sara groaned, throwing her head back and exposing an enticing stretch of throat that Ava had to resist the urge to kiss her way down. 

“What?” she coaxed, abandoning the circles in favor of tracing a design on Sara’s back. 

Sara looked at her and bit her lip, her hair wild, her eyes clear.

Ava had the fleeting thought that Sara had never looked sexier. 

“I feel guilty,” Sara admitted. “Laurel’s still dead but last night I slept more soundly than I have in almost a year. It’s like...It’s like I’m moving on.”

Ava wrapped an arm around Sara and drew her in as tears spilled down Sara’s cheeks. 

“I’m sorry,” Sara mumbled. 

“Don’t be,” Ava said, placing a kiss on Sara’s head. 

Sara pulled away. “No! It’s stupid! Here, I finally got to properly be with a girl I really-” Sara hesitated for a moment, and Ava’s heart skipped a beat, but then Sara continued, “a girl I really care about...I finally got to be with YOU, and now I’m fucking crying about NOT having a nightmare.”

“Hey!” Ava said, grasping Sara’s face firmly in her hands, forcing her to look at her. Ava let her thumbs brush away the tears staining Sara’s face. “Hey,” she repeated in a calmer voice. “It’s not stupid. It’s maybe not how I envisioned our next morning going-” she joked, and she was relieved when Sara snorted in amusement in response, “but it’s not stupid.” 

Sara’s eyes dropped, but Ava ran her thumbs along her cheeks again, and Sara looked back up at her.  

“You’re never going to completely move on. I don’t think it’s possible from something like that. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but it has to change you forever to some degree.”

Sara nodded in her hands, and Ava let one hand fall back to her lap while she slid the other through Sara’s hair. 

“It’s not like you’re ever going to be over your sister’s death, but...you’re allowed to have moments of happiness, aren’t you?”

“Am I?” Sara asked. She didn’t look convinced. 

“Yes,” Ava said firmly. She leaned in and kissed Sara firmly. “Yes, you are.” 

She wasn’t sure that Sara was convinced, but Sara kissed back like she wanted to believe it. Maybe, for now, that was enough. 

  
  
  


How she and Sara managed to get any homework done over the weekend, Ava wasn’t exactly sure. They did. They, remarkably, got all of it done, and made it out of the house for lunch with Quentin, but it was not easy. Now that they’d given in, all Ava wanted to do was touch Sara. All she wanted to do was be with her and feel her. She wanted to run her hands over bare skin and listen to the hitch in Sara’s breath when she found those special spots that made her squirm with excitement. She wanted to learn every spot, every move that would help her dissolve Sara even faster. She wanted to stay tangled up in her all day and all night. 

“School’s overrated, right?” Ava asked, her voice muffled by her pillow. She shivered slightly as Sara’s fingers traced idle shapes on her back. 

Sara let out a bark of laughter. “Ava Sharpe, I have definitely been a bad influence on you. School is not overrated. Not for someone like you.”

Ava felt Sara’s hair tickle her back moments before Sara pressed soft kisses onto her shoulder. 

Ava turned her head to look at Sara, and Sara leaned in for a kiss. 

“Okay, but isn’t this so much better than sitting in class?”

Sara kissed her again and hummed contentedly into it. “It’s pretty good.”

Ava gasped and rolled onto her back. “Pretty good? Only pretty good? That wasn’t what you were saying earlier,” she challenged, pulling Sara down into her, enjoying the way their bodies fit together so perfectly. 

Sara chuckled against her lips, and they let themselves get lost in each other for a few minutes. 

“Okay, better than pretty good,” Sara relented. “But half of why I like you is that brain of yours, so I’m not about to let it go to waste.” 

“Only half?” Ava asked. 

Sara’s hands trailed up her sides. “Well, half for this body, too.” 

Ava laughed as Sara kissed her again. 

“But if we just skip Monday -”

“Then next it’ll be Tuesday, and somehow I don’t think that was what your parents had in mind when they said they trusted you to be responsible.” 

Ava made a face. “Can we not bring up my parents when we’re naked in bed together?”

Sara laughed again. “Sorry, I’m just saying -”

“I know, I know,” Ava groaned. “Okay, fine, we’ll go to school in the morning.”

Sara groaned. 

“You’re the one that just talked me into it!” Ava pointed out. 

Sara kissed her again. “I know. It just sounds so much better in theory. Staying in bed with you is so much nicer in practice,” she replied, letting her fingers stray lower, ghosting across Ava’s thighs. 

“Well, good thing you’re still in bed with me,” Ava pointed out. 

Okay, so it was a school night, but there was nothing saying they had to go to sleep right then. 

  
  
  


“Oh my God, you guys finally did it!” Zari declared. 

Ava blushed. “What?” she asked. 

Sara slid a hand around her waist and grinned. “Don’t be mad I didn’t text you back.”

“I’m not mad now I know what you were doing!” Zari replied.  “Maybe a little nauseated, but not mad.”

Sara rolled her eyes, but Ava only felt her blush deepen. 

“How could you possibly -”

“Oh, please,” Zari cut her off. “You’re glowing. Both of you.”

“We’re not-” Ava protested, but Amaya walked up gave her a knowing grin. 

“Hey, you two. Looking...happy,” Amaya greeted them as she came to a stop beside Zari. There was an inflection to the word ‘happy’ that made Ava blush deeper. 

“Oh, God, ARE we glowing?” Ava asked, turning to Sara. 

“You always look like you’re glowing to me,” Sara replied.

Ava leaned in for a kiss as Zari turned away and muttered, “And, now I’m gonna puke.”

Sara gave her the finger and Ava giggled into the kiss. 

A girl walking past that Ava didn’t even recognize called out, “Yay for cult leader kisses!”

All four of them looked at her, and Sara gave her a little wave. 

“She had a pin,” Amaya pointed out. 

“Half the school has pins,” Zari replied. “And here I am getting no credit for starting an entire movement.”

Sara put her hand over her heart. “Poor, deprived Zari. I bow down to you for being the true genius behind our cult,” Sara declared with an over the top bow. 

Zari nodded. “Good. Thank you.”

Ava and Amaya giggled, then Amaya stepped forward and hooked an arm through Ava’s and started to lead her away. 

“I’m just going to borrow your girlfriend for a few,” Amaya said to Sara. 

Sara stepped back and held her hands out. “Be my guest.”

“I have free will, you know,” Ava muttered, but let Amaya lead her out of earshot. 

“So, how long after your parents left did you get her into bed?” Amaya asked with a knowing smile.

Ava blushed. “A few hours. Mostly because she wasn’t at my house before then.”

“And?”

Ava blushed deeper, but there was no hiding things from Amaya. “It was amazing,” she gushed. “Mind blowing. Like, I know that word gets tossed around a lot with sex, but seriously. She was...like she found EVERY spot and just-”

Amaya chuckled. “Okay, I get it. Good. I mean, you’re so in love with her I’m not really surprised, but I’m glad it was everything you hoped it would be.”

Ava froze at Amaya’s words, her mouth hanging open. Had she really just called her out like that? At school? What if people heard? What if Sara heard?

Ava looked around quickly, but seeing nobody looking interested nearby did nothing to slow her racing heart. “Amaya!”

Amaya frowned. “What?”

“You- I- I’m not! You can’t just say that!”

Amaya gave her a look. It was a very pointed look. Ava didn’t like it. “Don’t tell me you haven’t told her yet,” Amaya said. 

“I’ve barely told ME!” Ava replied. “And it’s not…’in’ love. It’s just, I maybe, kind of, I mean, there are feelings that could be...I mean, I do…”

She couldn’t say the words. Not aloud to another person. Not even Amaya. Amaya looked far too amused. 

“It’s okay. I don’t think she’s going anywhere. You’ve got time,” Amaya said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

Ava took a deep breath. “It would probably be good if I could admit it to someone else before I go trying to say it to her,” Ava muttered.

“I’ve never seen you so tongue-tied before,” Amaya admitted. 

“I’ve never really felt like this before,” Ava replied. 

Amaya gave her a warm smile. “I know. It looks good on you, though.”

Ava flashed her a smile in reply. “Thanks. And, hey, what about your stuff. You get any surer over the weekend?”

Amaya’s smile turned shy. “Maybe. I think...maybe we could have a best friend date later this week? If you can tear yourself away from your bed for long enough?” she teased.

Ava wrinkled her nose like she was really contemplating her options there. “I don’t know. That sounds unlikely.”

Amaya gave her a playful little shove. “I can always never tell you,” she offered. 

Ava felt her curiosity pique. “Okay, okay. I can probably manage it. My folks get back Wednesday and they’ll want to see me, so Thursday?” 

Amaya nodded. “It can wait.”

“Is it safe to approach? Am I allowed to hear stuff? Or is it still girl talk?” Sara called. 

Ava blushed and reached out towards her. Sara stepped eagerly to her and kissed her. Ava didn’t even bother to look around to see if anyone had seen. She didn’t care who saw. 

The bell rang, and Ava sighed in disappointment, reluctantly letting Sara pull away from their kiss. 

“See you later?” Sara asked, the intensity of the look she gave Ava making her knees weak. 

Ava nodded. “Later.”

“Wishing we’d skipped?” Sara asked. 

Ava grinned and nodded again. “So much.”

Sara shot her a wink as she backed down the hall away from her. “Being responsible can really suck sometimes.” 

“Amen,” Ava muttered as she turned and headed off to her own class. Maybe later she didn’t have to start her homework right away. Maybe her bed was calling her and Sara’s names. 

  
  
  


“I don’t want to sit on that bed, do I?” Amaya asked.

“I changed the sheets!” Ava defended herself. She had put them through the wash, too, though she’d left the pillowcase that Sara had slept on. It was cheesy, she knew, but it smelled like her, and it was such a nice smell to go to sleep to. The room had smelled like sex, though, when they’d gotten up on Wednesday morning, and she had not wanted her parents coming home to that. 

“Just don’t tell me details about what you two did on there and I’ll be good” Amaya replied, sitting gingerly on the edge. “Probably, anyway.”

Ava laughed. “No details. Promise. Anyway, we’re here to talk about you,” she pointed out, taking a seat beside her and giving her a pointed look. “Something you’ve been keeping from me?”

Amaya looked a little sheepish. “It’s not that I’ve been keeping it from you, it’s just I’ve been working it out myself.”

“Okay...and now you’ve worked it out?” Ava asked. 

Amaya smiled a dreamy sort of smile. “Yeah. I think so.” 

Ava waited. She could tell that Amaya wasn’t going to be rushed in this, but the curiosity was eating away at her. She and Amaya had always told each other everything, but her time had been eaten up by Sara recently and Amaya had branched out and bonded with new friends. Ava frowned at the thought that maybe Zari had replaced her as Amaya’s confidante. She knew they’d been spending a lot of time together, and it seemed like they’d gotten really close, but surely Ava was still Amaya’s best friend. Like BEST best. Not that a person couldn’t have more than one, it was just-

“So, I’m dating Zari…” Amaya said, her fingers picking at the threads on the quilt on Ava’s bed. 

Ava’s jaw dropped open. She should be floored. Amaya was straight...or at least Amaya had always dated guys in the past. Except, she wasn’t floored. Her mind flicked through the little touches, the easy smiles...all the little things that she’d noticed and then dismissed. “Since when?” she finally asked. 

Amaya shrugged. “We had our first real kiss the day after the day the shenanigans kicked off at school and then we slept over at Sara’s. Also known as the same day that you and Sara almost got mugged.”

“Almost two weeks? You were dating a girl for almost two weeks and I didn’t even get an ‘I think I might not be straight’ phone call?” 

“How long did you think you might not be straight before you finally told me?” Amaya asked. 

“Okay, maybe you have a point,” Ava admitted. “Longer than a week, for sure. But, in my defense, I wasn’t dating anybody.” 

Amaya gave her a pointed look.

“Okay, you still have a point.”

“I never necessarily thought I was straight, but I’d never given too much thought about it, and then...I don’t know. Then Zari happened.” Amaya shrugged. 

“So was it the kiss at school that prompted it?”

Amaya shook her head. “No. We were definitely flirting before that happened.”

Ava’s brows furrowed. “Wait, Zari can flirt?”

Amaya laughed. “She’s pretty good at it when she wants to be. Not that she’d admit that.”

“I’ve actually seen you get her to begrudgingly admit things,” Ava replied. 

Amaya grinned. “I guess I have.”

Ava took a moment to process all of the information she’d just been given. “Really? Zari? Sarcastic asshole is your taste in women?”

Amaya laughed again. “She’s sweet at heart.”

“Wow,” Ava murmured. “Who knew?”

Amaya gave her a playful shove. 

“So you like her a lot?”

Amaya nodded. “Enough that we’re going to tell my parents this weekend.”

“What?? That’s...that’s huge!” 

Amaya nodded again. “How do you think they’ll take it?”

Ava considered Amaya’s parents. They could be old fashioned about some things, but they were laid back, just like Amaya, and there was no doubt how much they loved her. “I think they’ll be fine.”

Amaya nodded. “I think so, too.”

“And, hey, if not, my parents already love you as much as they love me, so I’m sure they’d adopt you,” Ava joked. 

Amaya laughed again. “Speaking of love...any closer to admitting your feelings to Sara yet?”

Ava groaned and flopped back on her bed. “Nevermind. The adoption offer is off the table.” 

A thought struck her as Amaya giggled, and she sat back up. “Wait, does Sara know?”

Amaya nodded. “Zari’s telling her now.”

“So she didn’t know before me?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Amaya replied. 

“Okay, good.”

  
  


“You know, I feel like I should have known when they had so much chemistry during truth or dare,” Sara muttered. “Like they weren’t even that subtle about it.”

Ava let out a bark of laughter and gave Sara’s hand a little squeeze as they strolled through the quiet park where they’d ended up on their first date. They had been talking about it on and off their whole date. “You’re just mad because Amaya told me and Zari made you guess.”

“It should NOT have taken me that many guesses,” Sara grumped. “If I wasn’t so distracted by this gorgeous blonde I happen to be dating…” she said, swinging Ava around her to face her and pulling her in for a kiss. 

Ava melted into the kiss. She knew exactly what Sara meant about being distracted. It was so easy to get completely wrapped up in Sara. Since they’d first gotten together, she’d felt her focus shifting more and more. She thought of Sara first thing in the morning when she woke up (even more so when she woke up in bed beside her). She thought of Sara last thing at night before she went to sleep. She was the first person she thought to tell when something good happened and the first person she wanted a hug from when something bad happened. It had only been a few weeks, and already Sara felt like her world. Rationally she thought it was too much, too soon, but when she was with her, when Sara’s lips were on hers or she was flashing her one of her smirks, or their hands were brushing as they walked down the hallways together, Ava knew she was way too far gone to pull back now. All she could do was hope she wouldn’t end up with a shattered heart. It was a stupid thought to have about a high school relationship, but she’d never felt anything like this in her life. 

Sara’s hands slid down over her ass and Ava trailed her fingers over Sara’s sides through the ribbed fabric of her shirt. God, she wanted her. Sleeping with her had done nothing to satiate her thirst for Sara. If anything, it had only made it worse. She wanted her all the time. They’d come close to losing control in the bathroom at school just earlier that day. It was easy to forget they were actually out in public in the serenity of the little park. 

Someone cleared their throat, and Ava and Sara broke apart, sheepishly. They’d been so wrapped up in each other that they hadn’t noticed anybody else entering the park. 

Ava was about to turn to offer a sheepish apology to whoever it was, when Sara’s eyes went wide and unadulterated fear spread across her face. 

“Hello, Sara.” 

The voice was crisp and cheery, and Ava felt a shiver run down Sara’s spine. 

“Ava, RUN!” Sara hissed, eyes not leaving whoever had greeted her. 

Ava turned slowly, the hairs at the back of her neck standing up, and she was met with the sight of a tallish man with piercing blue eyes and a receding hairline, his hair so blonde it was almost white. He carried himself with a self-assured poise that Ava found instantly intimidating, and the smile on his face was anything but pleasant. 

Ava felt dread beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach, cold and clammy, freezing her in place. 

“Run,” Sara urged again, her voice low and pleading. 

“I wouldn’t,” the man replied, still sounding remarkably upbeat. He nodded behind them, and Ava turned to see that two, large, burly men who looked more than capable of handling themselves had taken up guard posts at the two exits to the park. 

If this man was who Ava thought he was, this was worse than bad. 

His sharp eyes flitted between Ava and Sara, and his smile grew. His eyes finally settled on Sara. 

“Have you grown? You look taller somehow,” he commented, as if he was an uncle she hadn’t seen in a few years. 

Sara glared hard at him. 

“No?” he asked with a shake of his head. “Hmm.”

“If you’re going to kill me, Darhk, get it over with, but let her go!” Sara spat at him.

Ava felt her heart sink. There it was: the name she had hoped not to hear. This was the man who had killed Sara’s sister. This would not be like the thugs in the parking lot at the amusement park. An attempt to take him out would almost certainly end with them dead. Who knew what weapons his backup had. He himself didn’t appear armed, but Ava wasn’t stupid enough to think that that meant he wasn’t. 

Darhk appeared to consider what Sara had said for a moment, his head tilting to the side a little, finger tapping his chin. “Let her go? No. Not yet, anyway. But don’t worry, Sara, dear. I’m not going to kill you now. This is merely a courtesy visit. I just wanted to let you and your old man know that I was in town and want to catch up.” 

Ava felt a chill run down her spine and her arms were covered in goosebumps. Her heart was racing so fast in her chest she was having trouble hearing anything over the pounding of it. Her chest felt tight and it was almost as if she was forgetting how to breathe. His words echoed through her mind. Not yet. He wasn’t going to kill Sara yet, but he did plan to kill her. This man wanted to hurt HER Sara. Not just hurt. 

Ava wanted to throw up. She wanted to stand in front of Sara and protect her. She wanted to run. She wanted to scream. 

She couldn’t do any of it. She was paralyzed in fear. 

“How about you catch up with the barrel of his gun?” Sara suggested. 

Darhk chuckled and the sound made Ava’s skin crawl. “Glad you still have a sense of humor. I need you to do me a favor for me, Sara.”

“I’d rather die,” Sara retorted and Ava let out a small whimper at the thought. 

Darhk’s eyes darted to her, then back to Sara. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” he replied. “I just need you to deliver a message for me.”

“I’m not your messenger, you sick fuck,” Sara shot back. 

Darhk frowned and stepped towards her, and finally Ava found her voice. “You touch her, you die,” she threatened. 

Darhk looked more amused than upset. He turned towards Ava and took another step closer. “Oooh, feisty. Fun. I’m sure you’ve been a welcome distraction for little Sara here. Sadly for you, that puts a target on your back too, if Miss Lance here can’t find a way to be civil and deliver a little message to her father on my behalf.” 

Ava, heart pounding in her ears, blood rushing through her veins so loudly she could hear it, found every last ounce of courage and stared right into his face. If she had passed him on the street, she never would’ve known he was the face of evil, but looking at him here, now, she knew that when he promised to hurt someone, he did it. 

“What’s the message?” Sara asked through gritted teeth. 

“There. That’s better. See? It’s not so hard to be civil, now, is it?”

“There’s nothing civil about you,” Ava accused. 

Darhk’s face twisted up into an amused smile. “So much spark. You picked a good one, Sara. I approve.”

Ava felt sick at the thought that this psychopath somehow liked her. He didn’t have the right to like her. 

“WHAT is the MESSAGE?” Sara demanded, a murderous look in her eyes. 

Ava noticed her hands had clenched into fists at her side, and she knew that it must be taking all of her will-power not to throw punch after punch right now. She must have had the same thoughts that Ava had about weapons. She was livid and terrified, but she was still thinking clearly. 

“Just let your father know that he’s cost me enough and I’m here to collect.”

“I’m not going to let you just toy with him,” Sara replied. 

Darhk closed the distance to Sara in the blink of an eye and grabbed her face, squeezing her chin as he held it up so she had no choice but to look at him. “Oh, you very much are. Your father hurt my business. Your father drove away my family. I’m here to take his sanity. And then, once you’re gone and your mother is gone, I’ll take his life.” Darhk dropped her face and stepped back with a smile. “Now be a good little girl and run on home to deliver my message. The big scary men will let you pass. Don’t worry.” 

Sara grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled, walking quickly away, past one of the men, and on down the street away from the park. When they were out of sight, Sara broke into a run with Ava right beside her. 

They ran and ran, past where they’d need to turn to get back to Ava’s car, past the restaurant where they’d had dinner, on and on, until Ava saw the clocktower looming before them. Sara ran up the stairs and collapsed in the dim light let in by the clock face, her knees hitting the wood floor with a thud. Ava knelt beside her and held her as her body shook with sobs. Tears stung at her own eyes as she attempted to catch her breath and calm her racing heart. Her mind could barely process what had just happened. 

Damien Darhk was here and he wanted to kill Sara. He wanted to kill Sara’s mom and Sara’s dad. He’d threatened to kill her. 

Ava held Sara even tighter, and Sara looked up at her, cheeks stained with tears, eyes blotchy, but still gorgeous. 

Sara looked her in the eyes and made a promise that Ava so desperately wished she could make in return. 

“I won’t let him hurt you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, I wrote the general dialogue for that last scene sooo long ago, and I have been looking forward to it since then. Who thought this was going to stay nice and fluffy now they'd finally slept together?


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava try to figure out a plan after their encounter with Darhk, but their parents have heavy input.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait between updates. My writer's block is still on and off, and my interest in Avalance has been pushed to the side by other things. I do have the rest of this mapped out finally, though, hence there finally being a number of total chapters. (Although I've found that the best-laid plans don't always play out when writing, so we'll see.)
> 
> Trigger warning for suicide, not in the chapter, just in the note: This has been kind of a rough week for me so far. My nephew would have been 19 tomorrow, but instead he took his life almost two years ago. I've channeled some of my grieving into earlier chapters of this story, and it's been somewhat therapeutic to me, but I just wanted to say to all of you readers: you matter. Your existence matters. If you're struggling reach out to someone. Please don't take away your chance to see another tomorrow or see the next update of this (or any other story that you're reading), or watch the next new episode of that show you love. If you need it, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is: 1-800-273-8255.

“You’re going far, far away! We’ll get you out tonight. The Queens have a boat. I’m sure they’d let you use it. If you’re in the middle of the ocean you’ll be a lot harder to find!”

Ava’s heart was still pounding as she watched Quentin racing around Sara’s room, throwing clothes and random supplies into a large duffel bag. It was clear he wasn’t thinking clearly when he tossed in Sara’s precalc textbook, but Ava could hardly blame him. She wasn’t exactly thinking clearly either. 

“Dad, I’m not going anywhere!” Sara argued for approximately the tenth time in as many minutes, but Quentin had stopped listening the second that Sara had mentioned Damien Darhk. 

He’d gone white as a sheet and nearly collapsed as Sara recounted their encounter, and he’d gone to grab the bag to pack before she’d finished. 

“Oh, yes you are, young lady!” Quentin countered, opening a drawer full of underwear and tugging it all the way out before dumping it in the bag. 

“Dad! Stop!” Sara yelled, snatching the drawer back from her dad. 

“I have already lost your sister to this maniac, I am not about to lose you, too!” Quentin was biting back tears as he looked at Sara. 

“If I run, he’ll find me again. He found us here, and I can’t stay at sea forever. Besides, if he finds out where I am, I’ll be far more exposed,” Sara argued, her voice calm, but her muscles tense. 

Ava didn’t know how Sara was able to think so rationally right now. Ava’s brain was a wreck of swirling anxieties and her stomach was wound tight. Waves of nausea kept flooding over her when she remembered the look in Damien Darhk’s eyes. 

Quentin didn’t look convinced, but Ava had a hunch that logic wasn’t exactly ruling his head right now either. “Sara, honey, he won’t have a chance. I’ll take care of him and then you can come home again.”

“I’m not leaving you. Or Ava.” Sara reached out and grabbed Ava’s hand, and for the first time since they’d gotten to Sara’s house, Ava felt like maybe she could breathe properly again. 

A thought struck her, and before she could decide that this wasn’t exactly the time or place to worry about it, she blurted it out. “What did Darhk mean when he said you’d cost him enough? I thought he never went to jail.”

“His shady business dealings never even slowed,” Sara confirmed. “Right, Dad?”

Quentin looked thoughtful, his whirlwind packing momentarily abandoned as he pondered the question. “You’re right. When we left, he was doing better than ever. Nobody was ever going to go after him for Laurel’s murder and I had to leave. The rest of the department...Well, from what I’ve heard from the few good guys left there, it was fall in line or quit.”

Sara pulled out her phone and typed something into it. A few minutes of scrolling later and her face fell. “His wife left him and took their daughter.”

“Serves him right. Maybe his daughter will have a chance at a normal life now,” Quentin growled, leaning over Sara’s shoulder to read. 

Ava leaned in, too. Her eyes scanned down the page as Sara continued to scroll, and her breath caught in her throat at the word “accident”. 

“Oh,” Sara murmured. 

“But the daughter lived…” Ava added, reading ahead. 

“Wheelchair bound,” Quentin said. “And his wife didn’t make it.” 

“I don’t feel bad for him! He took Laurel and the universe took his family,” Sara snapped, locking her phone and shoving it angrily in her pocket. 

“His wife and child didn’t deserve to pay for his sins,” Quentin replied. “But that sure as hell doesn’t mean that I feel bad for him! He made his own choices! He can rot in his Hell!”

“So he won’t stop,” Ava said quietly, and Sara and Quentin both turned to face her. Ava took a deep, shaky breath and explained. “In his mind you took his family, you destroyed probably the only thing he thought he actually cared about...Laurel isn’t enough. He wants to destroy everything you care about in retaliation.” Ava could barely get out the words as another wave of nausea washed over her. 

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and then Sara said, “She’s right. If I go he’ll hunt me down because he knows hurting me will hurt you. It won’t matter where I go. And if I run, he’ll go after Ava because it will hurt me.”

“So you both go,” Quentin argued, though he didn’t sound as sure anymore. 

“And leave Ava’s family vulnerable? And our friends? And their families? What are you going to do? Evacuate the whole town and hope Darhk doesn’t notice?” 

“No, of course not, honey, but…” Quentin looked from Sara to Ava and back, desperation written on his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply, turning away and beginning to pace. “Okay. Okay, you’re right. I need to face this problem head on.” He turned back towards Sara and stabbed a finger in her direction. “But you’re not leaving my sight, young lady.”

“Dad,” Sara protested. “School? Your work?”

“Security detail. I’m not kidding Sara.”

To her credit, Sara didn’t argue that point. 

“And for you, too, Ava. I’ll talk to your parents.”

Ava frowned. “Do we really need to tell them? They’ll just worry.”

“And they should. They have a right to protect their child. I’d do anything to get the chance to protect Laurel, I won’t take that away from your parents.” 

Ava nodded. Arguments would be useless. She just hoped that her parents didn’t take the fleeing option more seriously. There was no way she was leaving Sara behind in danger. 

  
  


Ava slipped into the kitchen and gestured for Sara to follow. As soon as Sara was in the kitchen with her, Ava pulled her in and kissed her deeply. 

Sara broke away and glanced back into the living room where Ava’s parents were gripping each others’ hands, white-knuckled as Quentin continued to explain about Damien Darhk. There was a lot to tell, and Ava could tell that her parents were not handling it well. 

“I’m so sorry,” Sara muttered, turning away and leaning heavily on the counter, head down, hair falling into her face and obscuring it from Ava’s view.

Ava stepped forward and tucked Sara’s hair behind her ear, but she shifted slightly and it all fell forward again. “It’s not your fault,” Ava soothed. Okay, so she had never exactly been terrified for her life before she’d met Sara, but if the choice was between facing Damien Darhk or never having had Sara in her life, it was a no brainer. “You aren’t responsible for Damien Darhk.”

“But if it weren’t for me, your life wouldn’t be in danger,” Sara argued, still not looking up at her. 

Ava reached out and took Sara’s hand, tugging at it until Sara took her weight off it and let Ava pick it up. Ava laced their fingers together and guided Sara to turn and face her. Instead of the fear she expected to see there, Sara looked tired. Ava tried to imagine the weight of everything that Sara had been through in the last year: her sister being murdered, her family falling apart, moving across the country to a new school in the middle of her junior year, and now her sister’s murderer coming after her and her dad. It hadn’t even happened to her, and Ava felt her knees go weak as if the sheer weight would crush her. No wonder Sara looked tired. She must be exhausted. 

Ava pulled her in and hugged her tight, willing whatever strength she had to go into Sara and help her keep going. “We’ll get through this,” Ava assured her. “I’ve seen your dad and there is NO way he’s letting anything happen to you.”

“What if something happens to him, though?” Sara’s voice sounded so small and Ava felt her chin digging into her shoulder as she spoke. 

“It won’t. He’s smart. He’s a good cop.”

“He’s a depressed alcoholic,” Sara muttered, burying her face in the crook of Ava’s neck. 

Ava squeezed her a little bit tighter. “It’ll be okay,” she said, knowing full well that neither of them could know that for sure. She knew Sara wasn’t reassured, but what else could she say? She had to believe it would be okay or she wouldn’t be able to keep standing either. Quentin was a cop and a good man. Good  _ had _ to win, right? Except this was the real world, not a book, and sometimes the good guys didn’t win. 

The wave of nausea from earlier returned, but she still refused to let Sara go. “It’ll be okay,” she repeated. 

Sara nodded half heartedly into her shoulder. 

“We’ll get through this together,” Ava soothed, running her fingers through Sara’s hair. 

Sara wrapped her arms tighter around Ava’s waist in reply and Ava let herself melt into the comfort the touch provided. 

They  _ would _ get through this. They had to. 

  
  


Ava didn’t need to see the look on her parents’ faces as they closed the door behind Quentin and Sara. She knew what they were going to say. 

“No!” Ava declared before they had a chance. 

Her parents exchanged a look, and when they turned back to her it was with worried smiles. 

“Sweetheart,” her mom began in that way that Ava knew she thought sounded soothing, but in actuality just came across as condescending. It always preceded her parents deciding something for her life that they thought was best. 

“No,” Ava repeated, crossing her arms across her chest. 

“Why don’t we have a seat and talk about things?” her dad suggested. 

Ava continued standing, her eyes tracking her parents as they moved to the couch and took a seat beside one another. 

“Ava, please, honey,” her mother said, gesturing to the chair in front of her. 

Ava sighed and plopped down into the chair. 

“Now, Detective Lance is doing his best, but he’s explained how serious this situation is,” her dad began. “I hope you understand how dangerous this man is that you...encountered.”

Ava nodded. “Of course. I’m not an idiot.”

Ava’s parents exchanged another look and Ava watched as they took simultaneous deep breaths before continuing.

“Now...You know we like Sara and we understand you care for her, but-”

“If this is going to be followed by anything along the lines of ‘we think you should break up’ you can go screw yourselves,” Ava cut her off, sitting up straighter in her seat and glaring at her parents. 

“Ava!” her mom scolded. 

“This is your life we’re talking about here, young lady!” her dad argued, but Ava could hear the fear laced in his voice. It was enough to shake her. 

She wasn’t used to hearing her dad sound scared. Her pulse quickened and her hands clenched into fists as anxiety knotted even tighter in her stomach. She slumped back a little and dropped her gaze to her lap. 

“Maybe we should just leave town,” her mom said, turning to her dad. 

“No! I’ll have a protective detail! I’ll be fine!” Ava argued. Much as it unsettled her seeing her parents afraid, she wasn’t going to abandon Sara. She couldn’t. 

“I think we should consider leaving. Just for a while. Once he’s behind bars we can come back. We could visit your cousins! We haven’t seen them in ages!” 

Ava shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving.”

“Just on a trip, sweetheart,” her mother coaxed. “It would be good for you to get some space from Sara and-”

“You cannot make me leave!”

“Yes we can make you leave!” her father argued, raising his voice. “And we can make you stay away from Sara, too! We are still your parents, young lady.”

“I am not leaving her alone right now! She needs me!” Ava yelled back. 

“We understand you think you’re in love-” her mom tried in a calm voice, but Ava didn’t want to hear the end of that sentence. The beginning of it had been insulting enough. 

“I KNOW I’m in love! It’s not some high school crush and she’s not just another girlfriend! If I leave and anything happens to her…” Ava’s voice broke as the possibility hit her like a punch to the gut, “I’ll never forgive myself. I’ll never forgive either of you!” 

Ava saw her mom put a hand on her dad’s arm as he opened his mouth to respond. He looked at her mom and she shook her head. Her dad sighed, and when he looked back at her a moment later, he looked defeated. 

“Tell you what,” her mom said, leaning forward, “your father and I will discuss this further, really consider all of our options, and we can have another talk about this sometime when we’ve had time to process and our emotions aren’t running quite so high. For now we’ll trust in Detective Lance and the protection detail from the precinct.”

Ava felt herself begin to relax, ever so slightly. 

“But you need to remember that you are our little girl, no matter how big you may think you are, now, and we are going to do what we believe is best for you. Right now that means that you are at home or you are at school-”

“What?” Ava began to protest, but her mom held up a hand to silence her. 

“No more walking to or from school, either. One of us will drive you each way. We’ll arrange it with work. And you won’t be home alone ever, either.”

“Mom, I-”

“You want to stay in town. We want you to be safe. Consider it a temporary compromise,” her mother cut her off. 

“This is ridiculous!” Ava muttered. 

“Take it or leave it,” her mother replied. 

“What about Sara?” Ava asked. 

“You can see her at school, of course,” her mom said. 

Ava glared. That was her best offer? Seriously? 

“We’ll talk to Detective Lance about setting up a time to see her outside of school as well,” her dad said after a moment. His attempt to be comforting, Ava knew, but it fell far, far short. 

“I’m not 5! I don’t want a playdate with my girlfriend!” 

“Or you can not see her at all. Up to you,” her dad countered. 

Ava glared hard at her dad. “Fine!” she declared, then stood, and stomped up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her for good measure. 

She instantly grabbed her phone and texted Sara. 

_ Under house arrest. You’d think I was the criminal. _

It was a long few minutes before Sara’s reply came, and it wasn’t what Ava expected. 

_ At least you’ll be safe. _

Ava understood where Sara was coming from, but the prospect of either being at home or at school and getting no alone time with Sara was absolutely miserable. 

She flopped down her bed. It wasn’t fair. All she wanted to do was be there for Sara right now. She wanted to protect her. She wanted to hold her more and tell her again and again everything would be okay, even though she’d never felt less certain about anything, ever. 

She looked up at the ceiling, feeling her heart still racing from the events of the last 24 hours. 

It was then that it hit her. 

She’d admitted her feelings out loud. She’d said she loved Sara. 

No. She’d said she was IN love with Sara. 

Her heart pounded even harder in her chest at that realization. 

Maybe she hadn’t said it to Sara, but she  _ had _ said it. It was out there now in the world.

Scariest of all: it was true. 


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Ava deal with the aftermath of Darhk's appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! *sheepish wave* Thank you to those of you who've continued to comment and leave kudos and read despite a 6 month hiatus (SORRY!!)! I did not plan on taking that long off of writing, but I had massive writing block that grew into total creative block, and then I got back into art around Christmas, but still couldn't get any writing flow (or time because my children are very demanding and the twins are now learning to talk which means they can be more specifically demanding). Anyway, hopefully it will not be another 6 months before I update again. *fingers crossed* 
> 
> Also hopefully this doesn't suck. I felt very rusty writing it, so forgive any stiffness to my prose, please! (Assuming people are still sticking around to read this even!)

Ava’s parents were tempted to keep her home from school. Ava was adamant she be allowed to go. She argued that she couldn’t let her outstanding academic performance suffer just because a madman had threatened her, especially not with college only a year away and scholarships on the line. 

That WAS important to her, of course, and definitely it was the persuading factor for her parents, but it was far from the most pressing reason she had for not wanting to miss school. With her parents’ new restrictions, and Quentin’s understandable overprotective tendencies, school was now the only in person contact that she had with Sara. 

Ava checked her phone and noted that Sara still hadn’t texted her back from earlier, and she felt her stomach twist in knots. It was close to the only contact at all she’d had with Sara since the previous afternoon. Sara’s reply texts had been sporadic and far too monosyllabic. It had Ava on edge, as if Darhk being in town hadn’t done that anyway. Everytime it was too long between her text and Sara’s reply, she had to fight down the rising panic that Darhk had gotten to Sara.  

“Breathe,” she reminded herself as her heart began to pound faster in her chest. She tried to focus on the deep, calming breaths, but her mind wouldn’t stop envisioning Sara laying in a pool of blood somewhere. 

When her phone chimed, she jumped, then breathed a deep sigh of relief when she saw Sara’s name. 

_ See you there. ;) _ read the text, but it didn’t read as playful as the winky face should have made it. It read forced. 

Which was stupid, right? Sara had sent that identical text in the past and Ava had never thought the tone felt off before today. She was imagining things, reading too much into nothing. 

Ava read it again forcing herself to hear it in Sara’s flirty voice. It did little to relieve the knotting in her gut. 

The knock at the door made Ava jump, her heart racing once again in her chest, pounding so loud in her ears that she was certain whoever was at the door must be able to hear it too. The knock rang out again. 

“Miss Sharpe, we’re ready to escort you to school, whenever you’re ready.” The voice of one of the police officers who had been her recent shadow during the day called through the door and Ava breathed a sigh of relief. 

She took another deep breath before she trusted her voice to be stable enough to reply. “Be right out!” she called. 

_ At least I’ll get to see Sara soon, _ she thought. 

  
  


A kiss on the cheek wasn’t really what she’d been hoping for. Of course, the fact that they were in the school hallways, with an awkward audience of two police officers trying to look nonchalant just down the hall didn’t exactly lend itself to romance and heavy makeout sessions, but the brief brush of Sara’s lips on her cheek rather than a lingering embrace only served to stir up Ava’s anxieties further. 

“Hey,” Sara murmured, her voice soft, but there was an edge to it. 

Ava understood. She’d been on edge, too. She couldn’t shake the nagging thought that Sara was pulling away, though. “Hey,” she echoed, trying not to let the uncertainty she felt be audible in her voice. 

“Have I mentioned how not a fan of your new tail I am?” Zari said, walking over with Amaya on her arm. 

Amaya instantly detached herself from Zari and moved to Ava’s side, wrapping a comforting arm around her. “I’m just glad to have somebody watching over you who’s armed,” Amaya said. 

“I swear they keep giving us the side eye,” Zari muttered. 

“Well, you are the suspicious type,” Ava teased. 

Zari narrowed her eyes at her as Amaya giggled, but Sara simply rummaged through her locker, as if she wasn’t even following the conversation. 

“Earth to Sara. Are you going to let your girlfriend talk to me like that?” Zari demanded. 

“Hm?” Sara muttered, pulling a book out of her locker before she really seemed to tune into what had been said. “Since when do you need me to defend you?” Sara replied. 

The warning bell rang before the conversation could continue and Sara quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder. “If I’m late to Spanish again, Señor Ramirez will have my head. Catch you guys later.” 

Another unsatisfying peck on the cheek left Ava feeling more unsure than ever. She watched Sara walk away without even glancing back of them and had to swallow down a lump in her throat. 

She watched, feeling the barest hint of comfort, as one of the officers peeled off and trailed after Sara. At least she was protected from Darhk. Ava knew there were more officers posted at the entrances to the school. It made the place feel vaguely like a police state, but she felt safer, nonetheless. 

She turned away with a sigh and that’s when she noticed Zari’s frown as she too watched Sara’s retreating form. 

“She’s off,” Zari muttered. 

It was weird, but it made Ava feel minutely better that Zari had noticed too. If Sara was being off with everyone, maybe she wasn’t pulling away from their relationship. Maybe she was just trying to deal with everything that was going on. The whole situation must be bringing up so many thoughts of her sister, Ava realized. She internally berated herself for being so selfish in her thoughts. Of course Sara was off. This must be hellish for her, and Ava hadn’t even asked how she was handling all the memories of her sister with Darhk’s reemergence. 

“That’s to be expected though, really. I don’t really feel like myself either these days,” Ava replied. 

“I guess,” Zari said, though she didn’t sound convinced. 

“I think we’re all feeling a bit off. Personally, I can’t wait until that man is behind bars and you are safe again,” Amaya declared, giving Ava’s side a comforting squeeze. 

Ava offered a half-hearted nod, but her head was racing a mile a minute as she headed off to class beside her best friend. 

How could she have gotten so wrapped up in her own emotions that she had neglected to consider just how much worse this must be for Sara? Why hadn’t Sara cut her off or talked about how she must be feeling with her? Did her being off with Zari actually mean things weren’t off between Ava and Sara specifically? 

Ava longed for some alone time with Sara to talk and try to figure things out, but between the security detail, their parents, and actually having to attend classes at school, that didn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon. 

  
  


Four days and only a handful of texts with Sara later, and Ava was at her breaking point. It no longer reassured her that Zari and Jax said that Sara had become practically unresponsive with them too. Zari had gotten annoyed and Jax just shrugged it off, but Ava was more anxious than ever. Every day that passed with minimal interaction with Sara and absolutely no alone time made her feel a little bit crazier. She felt the only girl she’d ever loved slipping away and she couldn’t even get a damn minute with her to try to figure out how to make sure it didn’t happen. If Ava hadn’t hated Damien Darhk before, she did with a vengeance now. Why did some people have to take such joy in causing pain to others? What drove someone like that? How could they commit murder so easily? How could taking a human life ever be easy?

Ava caught a glimpse of Sara down the hall and checked the time on her phone. If she went after her, she’d be late for AP Calc if she chased her down. Then again, if she didn’t get a proper conversation with her, she wouldn’t be able to focus on class anyway. Any class. At all. She wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of flunking out of school in her junior year because of a maniacal asshole driving a wedge in her relationship and upending her life. No, she needed to talk to Sara and she needed to do it now Class be damned. 

Decision made, she marched quickly down the hallway and caught up with Sara. She felt Sara’s fist clench as she grabbed her wrist, but it relaxed as Sara turned and saw her. 

“You should NOT sneak up on people who have murderers after them,” Sara said, a hint of playfulness in her voice, but her eyes looked empty and the dark bags under her eyes betrayed a recent lag of sleep. 

“We need to talk,” Ava informed her, not bothering to respond to Sara’s attempt at a joke. She laced her fingers between Sara’s and tugged her down the hallway towards the side exit. She was aware of the security detail exchanging confused looks and following after them. 

“Talking is great and all, but aren’t you forgetting about this little thing called class that we’re supposed to be getting to?” Sara pointed out as classroom doors shut nearby and the bustle of the hallway between classes began to fade with only a few stragglers moving through the hallways. 

They needed to get out of their quickly if they were going to avoid getting caught by staff members. 

“This is more important,” Ava replied, holding Sara’s hand a little tighter and speeding up down the hallway.

The policeman at the side door was startled as she and Sara burst through it. 

“Don’t try to stop us!” Ava warned. “I don’t care if you follow, but we are leaving school!”

“Miss Lance -” the policeman began in protest as the security detail followed the girls through the doors. 

Ava cut him off as she wheeled around. “Actually, you can help us. Your job is to keep us safe, right?” 

All three officers looked taken aback, but finally one of them nodded. “Yes, Miss.” 

“Well, we are leaving school. We need a break. We have a crazy killer after us. Don’t you think we’ve earned a break?” 

The three officers exchanged a look, but none of them contradicted her. 

“Now, neither Sara nor I has a car here, so to get to where I’d like to go we could either take public transportation, or one of you fine, upstanding officers of the law could drive us. I know which one I think would be the safer option.” 

Ava waited expectantly and she heard a small giggle from Sara. When she risked a glance, she felt warmth bubble up inside her at a glimpse of the normal fire in Sara’s eyes. The officers exchanged another look. 

“Lance won’t like it,” one of them muttered. 

“She’s got a point, though,” another one countered. 

The two that had shadowed them in the school that day nodded reluctantly. 

“We’ll both take you,” volunteered the shorter of the pair. 

“Thank you,” Ava replied, feeling a slight bit of relief at this victory. The officers started towards their car, and Ava started to follow, but Sara didn’t budge. 

“The second the school calls my dad to tell him I missed class, he’s going to freak out.”

Ava hadn’t considered that. Her parents would do the same, assuming the worst. Hell, it’s what she’d have done if Sara suddenly show up without a warning. Her hopes at actually getting some alone time with Sara began to sink. 

“So here’s what we’re going to do. You,” Sara said, jabbing a finger at the officer who had been standing guard at the door, “are going to go inform the principal that there was a threat. Not a credible one, but better to be safe than sorry, so you’ve had to pull us to take us to a secure location for the rest of the day. That way we’ll have excused absences from class and nobody will bother to phone home.”

“We’ll have to tell your dad anyway. I’m not losing my badge over a ditch day,” the taller of their shadows said. 

“Fine,” Sara agreed. “In a few hours you can tell him all about our escape and I’ll be sure to put in how you did an excellent job shadowing us and keeping us safe.”

Ava grinned as the wheels turned in the officer’s brain and he nodded. 

Maybe this wasn’t exactly the “alone” time she wanted, but two officers away from school and parents beat the hell out of what they’d had so far this week. She’d take it. 

  
  
  


The area around the clocktower wasn’t especially busy even in the middle of the day, and they somehow managed to convince the officers to stay outside, though only after they had insisted on doing a thorough sweep of a building that Darhk probably didn’t even know Sara (or anybody really) frequented. It was, unsurprisingly, empty. 

Almost too empty. 

Now that they were alone in the large, sunny room behind the clock face, it felt like every sound echoed too much. Every breath she expelled sounded too harshly. Every pound of her heart must be audible across the room. Ava eyed the workout equipment, tempted to just say the hell with talking. Maybe all they needed was to work out some of their tension on the mats or with the heavy bag. 

In her heart, Ava knew that wasn’t the answer, but words were currently failing her. 

Sara didn’t seem any more eager to initiate the conversation than Ava was, as she paced back and forth several feet away ,glancing out of the clock face every once in a while, but never making eye contact with Ava. 

Part of Ava just wanted to go to her and hold her, get her to stop moving and properly look at her. Part of her wanted to kiss her senseless and save words for another day. 

Part of her also wanted answers. She wanted Sara to tell her what was going on in her head because each day that passed made her less and less sure she knew. 

“We’re great at this talking thing,” Sara mumbled, her tone teasing, but her words falling flat. 

“Don’t do that.” Ava scolded, crossing to Sara and blocking her path as she paced. 

Sara stopped, but didn’t reach out to touch her like Ava was sure she would have done before Darhk had made his fateful appearance. “Do what?” Sara asked, her eyes straying again out of the window, though Ava suspected she wasn’t so much seeing what was out there as much as not looking at her. 

“Try to joke this away,” Ava replied. 

Sara sighed. “Look, I deal with humor. It’s dark but it works. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to be around me.”

Ava took a staggering step back as if she’d been punched in the gut. In fact, that was exactly what it felt like. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe and a wave of nausea rose up her throat and her head swirled but no thought would stick. “W-what??” she finally managed. 

Why couldn’t Sara just look at her? Why couldn’t she make eye contact. 

Sara sighed again. “I’m just saying there’s nothing keeping you with me. You could be off safe. You’re only in danger because of me. This is just a stupid high school relationship. If we break up, we’ll eventually move on, right? And then you’ll be safe and won’t have to worry about Darhk or turn your life upside down or -”

“Stop!” Ava’s head had begun to reel as Sara began to speak. Her chest tightened, as if an invisible giant fist was squeezing it, and she felt like she could barely breathe. Why was Sara saying this? She knew she hadn’t imagined their emotions. So what if they were in high school? That didn’t invalidate their relationship! 

And then it hit her. Sara was telling her why even as she was trying to push her away. She was trying to protect her. Well, that was stupid. 

“Just stop. I’m not going anywhere,” Ava countered, taking a step towards Sara, arm outstretched. 

Sara stepped back, dodging the touch. “You should,” Sara muttered. “You should have run from me the second you met me.”

“Sara, you’re not going to push me away,” Ava replied. 

Sara’s eyes finally flicked up to meet hers. “I’m not who you think I am, Ava.” 

Ava opened her mouth to argue, but something in the look in Sara’s eyes gave her pause. She’d seen that look before, but only in glimpses. Her mouth felt dry and cotton-y as she opened her mouth again, but instead of arguing, she asked, “Why do you say that?” unsure of if she really wanted the answer. She knew there was something Sara had been hiding from her, but it had been so easy to get lost in her, in their relationship, in their feelings, that she’d all but forgotten the still unanswered questions surrounding Sara’s guilt about her sister.

“It’s my fault.”

“What?” Ava asked, her voice barely above a whisper. 

“Laurel.”

Ava shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. Darhk killed her. It’s HIS fault, not yours.”

Sara shook her head. “You don’t understand. I told you before that Laurel was at that party that Darhk grabbed her from to keep an eye on me…” Sara gave her a questioning look and Ava nodded her confirmation. “That’s not the whole story.”

Sara took a deep breath and turned to look out the clock face. She didn’t continue right away, but Ava didn’t interrupt. She felt apprehension rising in her gut. Sara couldn’t be right. It couldn’t actually be her fault. Darhk was a monster. Sara was anything but. 

“She didn’t go to the party with me. She came later, to find me because she was trying to keep me out of trouble. I was supposed to be grounded, and I snuck out. She figured it out before my parents did and came to bring me home before I got so grounded that I wasn’t allowed to see the light of day until I graduated high school.”

So far that didn’t sound that bad. Okay, so maybe Ava could see how a little guilt could creep in over sneaking out to the party in the first place, but it was misplaced. That didn’t make what happened to Laurel Sara’s fault. Far from it. 

“See, while she was being a good sister and looking out for me, I was upstairs in a bedroom hooking up with her boyfriend. Ollie. The one who I got into archery for. He started showing me some attention back and I’d always had such a crush on him so when he got a little handsy on the dancefloor of the party, I figured why not. Tommy, Ollie’s best friend and host of the party, covered for us. He sent her on a wild goose chase and then came to warn us when she left. We didn’t...I never actually...It didn’t get that far. But it would have. I would have. I was going to. And so he and I sauntered back to the party like nothing had happened and she was outside getting grabbed by Darhk’s men.” 

Sara’s voice broke and it took everything in Ava not to move towards her and hold her close, but she could tell that Sara didn’t want to be held right now. Tears that had clearly been welling up for a while began to trickle down Sara’s cheeks and Ava felt some pricking at her own eyes as Sara continued. 

“If I had been where I was supposed to be at home...Or even if I had just been down at the party, or gone right after her instead of doing my best to seem innocent when I was anything but and create myself an alibi. If I had fucking been a better sister in the first place -”

“Then you might well both be dead,” Ava cut her off. It didn’t take great leaps of the imagination to think what Darhk’s men would have done with the opportunity to grab Sara too. It didn’t take much for Ava to imagine Sara lying in a pool of blood, face battered, body broken. It was an image that had plagued her nightmares far too much of late. 

“Then I wouldn’t have to live without her, with this guilt of knowing what I did, the role that I played.”

“And I never would have gotten to meet you, or know you, or-” Ava cut herself off. Now wasn’t the right time. 

“Yeah, exactly. I never would’ve been able to turn your life upside down!”

“I’m GLAD you turned my life upside down! I’m GLAD you’re in my life!”

Sara looked at her incredulously, wiping the tears from her face in an angry motion. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m a HORRIBLE person!”

Ava shook her head and held Sara’s gaze. She wanted to make sure that Sara knew that the next words out of her mouth were true. “You’re an amazing person who did something kind of shitty once. I think you’ve paid a steep enough price for that. Don’t you?” 

Sara’s eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Ava, eyes wide. Her mouth opened and shut a few times, clearly looking for a response that was escaping her. 

“Laurel’s death is not your fault, Sara. You didn’t die, you did meet me, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. You’re not going to push me away, Sara.” Ava took a step forward, but didn’t reach out for Sara yet, giving her the opportunity to bolt if she wanted to. “I’m not going to break up with you because you made a mistake in the past and it coincided with the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. I’m going to stay with you because of who I know you are. I care about you and if that means my life is in danger and cops tail me 24/7, then I can live with that, but don’t run away just to try to protect me because all you’ll do it hurt me in the process. Besides, do you really think Darhk would be fooled if we broke up now? There’s no saying that he wouldn’t just come after me anyway. He’s a sadistic psychopath.”

Sara closed her eyes and another tear trailed down her cheeks and fell to the ground. 

Ava reached out and tenderly wiped the wetness off Sara’s cheek. Sara looked up at her, and Ava’s breath hitched. The afternoon light filtered through the clock face made Sara’s pale blue eyes practically glow, and the redness from her crying only made them pop even more. She was so stunning. How couldn’t she see that? 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ava repeated. 

Sara swallowed hard, but leaned in towards Ava, accepting the touch as Ava pulled her into a tight hug. Ava felt warm wetness permeate her shirt as Sara buried her face in her chest, and Ava held her even closer, letting her body speak where words couldn’t anymore as Sara’s body began to shake in silent sobs. 

They stood there in the warm glow of the sunlight for several minutes, simply holding each other close, and slowly Sara’s body calmed and the unmistakable sniffles of someone composing themselves after a good cry began to be audible. Sara made no move to pull away, though. She turned her head to the side on Ava’s chest and rested her ear over her heart. “That’s an amazing sound, you know.” Sara tapped out the rhythm of Ava’s heartbeat on her sternum. “You don’t know how much someone’s heartbeat means to you until you never get to hear it again.” 

Ava gave Sara’s shoulder a little squeeze but said nothing. 

“I can’t lose someone else that I love,” Sara said, her voice breaking again.

Ava held her breath as the word that had been echoing around her brain now felt like it echoed around the clock tower. Love. Sara loved her. This was real and Sara loved her. Her feelings were reciprocated. A weight that she didn’t realized had been pressing on her lifted. She leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss onto Sara’s head, breathing in the sweet perfume of her shampoo and the scent of leather from her jacket and everything that just said Sara to her senses. “You won’t,” she promised. “Just stop trying to push me away?” 

Sara pulled back and wiped her face, then gave Ava a sheepish look. “I didn’t know how else to protect you. I didn’t know how to make this better for you,” she said with a shrug. 

Ava pulled her in for a kiss. “This is good,” she mumbled against Sara’s lips. God, she’d missed those lips of late. “We could just keep doing this. It helps.” 

She felt Sara melt into the kiss, her body melding into hers perfectly, like two perfectly fitting puzzle pieces. 

“You just want me for my body,” Sara teased, her voice lighter than Ava had heard it in days. Her breath fell hotly against Ava’s lips before she captured them in another kiss. 

“Mm-hm,” Ava agreed. 

Sara pulled away with an offended gasp and Ava shot her a cheeky grin before pulling her back in for another kiss. She allowed herself to get lost in the kiss, in the feel of Sara, her fingers stroking up and down her back, cupping her cheek, her body pressed firmly against her own. 

Reality was waiting, though, and they didn’t have forever here in the clock tower. She broke apart from Sara reluctantly.

“How long do you think we have before your dad’s colleagues burst in on us, or, worse, tell your dad where we are?” Ava asked, leaning her forehead against Sara’s, just enjoying sharing the same air as her in private for just a little while longer. 

Sara groaned. “Not nearly long enough.” She pulled away and Ava let her feeling secure, this time, that Sara would come back for another embrace soon. 

Sara peered out through the window and Ava did the same. Her eyes scanned for the police officers who were waiting for them and saw one at the base of the tower and the other at the corner. Then she felt Sara’s body tense beside her. 

“What?” Ava asked. 

“Darhk,” Sara replied, and as Ava followed her gaze, she saw the familiar form across the road looking up at them with a smile. 

Dread rose up in her throat making it hard to breathe, and suddenly she didn’t feel so steady on her own feet. He’d found them. Again. Here in their place. Was there anywhere he couldn’t get to them? 

Darhk raised his arm and tapped at his wrist as if signaling that time was running out, manic smile still firmly in place on his face. 

Sara managed to think before Ava’s brain was able to kick back into gear. Sara knocked loudly on the clock face to try to get the officers’ attention, yelling. “DARHK IS HERE! LOOK OVER THERE HE’S HERE!” but the heavy glass must have muffled the sound too much. 

Sara grabbed Ava’s hand and raced towards the stairs. Ava ran after her, her brain finally kicking in. They weren’t alone here. They had protection. They had it for this very reason. They’d be okay. Their time wasn’t up. Not yet, anyway. Damien Darhk couldn’t get to them now. In fact, maybe he’d overplayed his hand. The cops would see him and arrest him and things could go back to normal. She and Sara could get back to their regularly scheduled programming of heavy makeout sessions and flirty teasing and...other fun activities. 

Sara burst through the door to the building with Ava hot on her heels and the officer there jumped. The one who’d been at the corner came running towards them. 

“DARHK!” Sara gasped, pointing to where they’d seen him, but as Ava looked, she realized he’d gone. The sidewalk where he’d stood was now bleakly empty. 

“He was right there,” Ava panted. “He saw us.” 

“You’re sure?” one of the officers asked them. 

“Positive,” Sara replied, and Ava nodded in agreement. 

“Don’t worry, girls. We’ll radio this in and have half the department here in no time. They’ll find him. Let’s get you back to the car.” 

As one officer began to speak into his radio, the other ushered them back to the safety of the police car. 

Ava’s brief glimmer of hope was dashed. Darhk was criminally insane, but he wasn’t stupid or he’d already be behind bars. He likely saw the police officers and had an escape route already in place when he stood there taunting them. Ava had no doubt that he’d be long gone before the police could respond and organize a search. 

She slid into the back seat beside Sara and realized that they were still holding hands. She gave Sara’s hand a little squeeze, and Sara shot her a smile and squeezed it back. At least now they were actually facing this together. It might have been stupid, but that felt like something. 


End file.
